


i loved you in spite of deep fears (that the world would divide us)

by Dinosaur1212



Category: The Wilds (TV 2020)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Enemies to Lovers, F/F, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, So here we are, There's a lot of swearing, Toni Shalifoe: resident angry lesbian who doesn't know why she hates shelby, all the characters will work their way into the story eventually, also the horror movie is April Fool's Day and i'm spreading my agenda about it, although each has their own reasons, andrew is a dick tbh, but yanno shelby's reason is 10/10 going to be an impetus for certain things, don't mind me mentioning bend it like beckham, fatin knows everything, gretchen is just kinda a chill principal ngl, i have too many tags as usual, i havent finished the show yet actually, i hope i don't overdue it but i dont swear a lot, i just really enjoy writing from Toni's POV so the majority of this goes that way, i mean they're really not gonna like each other, i watched the wonderland edit too many times, i'm just obsessed and had to write something, i'm trying something new by writing in the present tense, like a lot but they swear all the time on the show, mostly Toni's POV, nothing says falling in love like planning a school dance together, or why shelby's presence annoys her, please be kind, she is really just having the time of her life, some ocs introduced as toni's teammates, the way i imagine the school is how my high school was set up so yeah, there's some Shelby POV here and there but not much
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-17
Updated: 2021-02-28
Packaged: 2021-03-11 02:47:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 25,129
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28127844
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dinosaur1212/pseuds/Dinosaur1212
Summary: “That’s what I thought,” Ms Klein says, and then her attention is on Shelby, “I called you down here in regards to the planning of the Student Council dance. I take it you need help with that?”Shelby glances at Toni, who looks defeated in her chair, then back at Ms Klein in order to respond, “I mean it is just me planning it, so I could always use help.” She can’t figure out what could possibly be unfolding before her, but she is very hopeful that it isn’t that Toni is going to be helping her plan the dance. She would much rather do it alone than put up with Toni being confrontational the entire time.“I’m glad to hear that, because say hello to your new partner in helping you plan,” Ms Klein says as simply as can be, “She’s going to be helping you due to a little incident that happened earlier, but she is committed to giving it her best. Right, Toni?”ortoni has to help shelby plan a school dance after getting in trouble, and they might just fall in love along the way
Relationships: Shelby Goodkind/Toni Shalifoe
Comments: 89
Kudos: 503





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> hi! i wrote the entirety of this first chapter between 1-4am so i deeply apologize for any grammatical errors, but the odds of me proofreading anything is nonexistent so that also doesn't help. anyways, this is my first work where i'm trying out writing in the present tense, so bear with me as i tackle that. i usually write everything in past tense, but i wanted to change it up a little bit. also, the title is 100% taken from a taylor swift song. i have a tendency to do that tbh. so, uh, enjoy!

Being the president of the Student Council meant only one thing for Shelby. She knows it’s what she signed up for, and she’s more than willing to do it, but planning a school dance is stressful. Of course the teacher in charge of the Student Council would help here and there, but the dance is supposed to be student oriented, meaning for the students by the students. Or in Shelby’s case, by one student. No one else on the Student Council had any intentions of helping her, and she knew they never would. 

Of course, senioritis is at an all time high amongst the entire senior class, and it only grows worse with each passing day. A part Shelby wishes she could be as carefree as all her peers, but her parents make that impossible with their constant pressure for her to be their perfect child. She hates it. Hates it more than anything in her life, even if her parents teach her that hate should have no place in her heart.

Shelby’s actually talking to Mr. Faber after class about her plans for the dance when it comes over the intercom for her to report to the principal’s office.

\--------------------------

Earlier that day, Toni is leaving her calculus class when someone hits her books out of her hands. It’s immediately followed by the person who does it making a comment.

“Looks like you dropped your books, dumbass.”

Toni recognizes the voice almost instantly. Of course it’s Andrew, or as she calls him in her head, the dickwad that won’t leave her alone. She tries to hold herself together, she really does, because she knows she can't afford to get in trouble again, but then Andrew opens his mouth again.

“I guess you didn’t hear me. I said, you dropped your books. Dumbass.”

And that’s when Toni loses it. In the back of her head she knows Andrew has been doing this on purpose to get a rise out of her. She knows he’s had it out for her for some reason, but it still doesn’t stop her. She goes to try and punch him, but one of his cronies tries to grab her arms, which was a mistake on his part as Toni just jabs her elbow back into his stomach as hard as she can, and then it’s just Andrew. 

By now a crowd is around them to see what’s going on, and Toni momentarily locks eyes with Dot, who looks like she wants to intervene and stop Toni, but she doesn’t. Toni knows why she doesn’t. Knows that all her friends are well aware that trying to stop Toni is a losing battle, so they watch from the sidelines. She also knows teachers will be there to stop them in no time, so she throws a punch. She regrets it as soon as she does because Andrew was anticipating it, and dodges her punch while managing to take Toni to the ground. So she does the only thing she can, she spits in his face and says, “Get the fuck off of me!”

“Yeah, I don’t think so,” Andrew sneers back, “After all you swung at me first.”

“Only because you knocked my fucking books out of my hand,” Toni fires back. She tries to get out from under his grasp, but at this point his friend, who she’s pretty certain is named Tyler, has recovered and is helping Andrew. It’s frustrating for Toni knowing that she’s helpless, but it doesn’t stop the anger she has, “Listen dickwad, I don’t know what I did to make you hate me so goddamn much, but give it up.”

“You’re funny,” Andrew chuckles before he continues, “But I’m not going to tell you what you did. I find this more fun. Especially since this little incident should get you kicked off the basketball team.”

Toni closes her eyes, knowing Andrew is right. The fact that she’s in the midst of a fight is going to be all it takes to get her off the team that she worked so hard to be a part of. She doesn’t get a chance to say anything in response because before she can even say anything, she hears Ms Klein.

“Andrew. Tyler. Get off of Toni.”

“Of course Principal Klein,” Andrew remarks, standing up from Toni, Tyler doing the same.

Toni opens her eyes when the weight of being held down recedes, sitting up as she does so. She resists the urge, albeit barely, to just pummel Andrew right then and there. It wouldn’t change anything; she knows she’s probably already off the team, but there’s the smallest flicker of hope that maybe it won’t happen. She doesn’t hold her breath for it to happen though.

“Alright. Now that that’s done. All three of you to my office,” Ms Klein commands before turning to the other students in the hall, “And everyone else, get to class.”

Andrew tries to plead his case by saying, “Toni swung at me first. This is all her fault.”

“It’s true,” Tyler adds.

Toni remains silent as Ms Klein looks down at her. It’s hard to not say her piece, but it would do no good to argue her case in the middle of the hallway. So she gathers her books that are on the floor and stands, walking off towards the office with nothing but a glare towards Andrew.

——

“Toni I want you to tell me what happened,” Ms Klein says from behind her desk. She takes a sip of her coffee while she waits for Toni to begin her story.

Toni takes a deep breath then explains, “I was just walking out of calculus when Andrew hit my books right out of my hands. He said something to me that I didn’t like, and I kinda got mad at it. So I did swing at him, but Tyler grabbed my arm, and I elbowed him and went after Andrew again. That’s when he pinned me down, and the rest was just me struggling.”

There’s no response at first, so Toni takes it upon herself to cut to the chase, “Look, I know I’m off the team. You made it clear the last time I got in trouble that if I got in trouble again, you would have no choice but to kick me off the team.”

“Hold on a second, Toni,” Ms Klein begins, “This isn’t the first time you’ve gotten in trouble with Andrew. Is he bothering you?”

“Does it matter?” Toni questions, but when Ms Klein gives her a pointed look, she answers the question, “He is, but I don’t know why. It’s like ever since he broke up with Shelby he’s coming after me. I fu- I mean I hate it. You would think I’m the one that broke them up. I don’t even like either one of them!”

“Well for one, you know I don’t care if you swear in front of me. I think letting students swear helps foster a positive environment,” Ms Klein replies at first but continues speaking, “Secondly, I am as perplexed by the whole timing of things as you are. Thirdly, it does matter that he’s bothering you, because he’s been provoking you to lash out. Which brings me to my final point, I know what I said last time about you being off the team if you got in trouble again, but in light of new information I may have an alternative solution. Although I don’t know if you’ll like it either based on what you told me, but I think you’ll prefer it over being off the basketball team.”

Toni couldn’t believe what she was hearing, but she quickly responds, “I’ll do anything if it means I get to stay on the team. What is it?” 

Ms Klein clears her throat before she answers, “You know the Student Council planned dance that the senior members put on every year?” When Toni nods, she continues, “Well I’ve noticed for years now that only the president ever seems to plan it, which isn’t fair. They have so many other members that should help them, but they don’t. Which is where my idea comes from. I want you to help plan it with the senior Student Council president.”

“Of course. Done deal,” Toni rushes out, her only thought being how happy she is that she isn’t off the team, but then her curiosity gets the best of her as she inquires, “Who’s the president?”

“I wondered when you’d ask that,” Ms Klein remarks, then answers the question, “The president is Shelby Goodkind.”

\--------------------------

When Shelby knocks on Ms Klein’s door and then enters into the office, she is met but a somewhat hostile mood, most notably emanating from Toni in the one office seat. She takes a seat in the chair beside Toni and asks, “What’s this all about?”

“Just the worst idea to exist,” Toni states, her voice glum and her gaze anywhere but where Shelby is.

“It’s not worse than you being off the basketball team though, is it?” Ms Klein questions.

There’s silence for a few seconds before Toni exhales and answers, “It’s just barely better than that.”

“That’s what I thought,” Ms Klein says, and then her attention is on Shelby, “I called you down here in regards to the planning of the Student Council dance. I take it you need help with that?”

Shelby glances at Toni, who looks defeated in her chair, then back at Ms Klein in order to respond, “I mean it is just me planning it, so I could always use help.” She can’t figure out what could possibly be unfolding before her, but she is very hopeful that it isn’t that Toni is going to be helping her plan the dance. She would much rather do it alone than put up with Toni being confrontational the entire time. 

“I’m glad to hear that, because say hello to your new partner in helping you plan,” Ms Klein says as simply as can be, “She’s going to be helping you due to a little incident that happened earlier, but she is committed to giving it her best. Right, Toni?”

“That’s correct,” Toni begins, her voice still lacking any sense of happiness, “From now until the dance, I’m all yours to plan the best dance this school has ever seen, while also kicking ass on the basketball court.”

Shelby opens her mouth to say something, but closes it again, before reopening it to finally question in disbelief, “You want me to work with the girl whose idea of school spirit is throwing her own urine on an opposing player?”

Toni chuckles in her seat, making the comment, “I’m really surprised that didn’t get me kicked off the team.”

“It took a lot of convincing to prevent that,” Ms Klein says to Toni before answering Shelby, “And yes. I want you to work with her. She has good ideas that even surprised me.”

“Thanks for the vote of confidence,” Toni vocalizes, “It really warms the heart.”

Shelby finally speaks up for herself at that, “I actually think I’m perfectly capable of planning the dance by myself. I mean countless people before me have, so why should I be different?”

“Because,” Toni draws out, “All of those dances were absolute shit. I at least have some decent theme ideas that beat ‘Under the Sea’ for the ninetieth year in a row.”

“Oh yeah?” Shelby challenges, “What are they?” A part of her hates the fact that she’s being so against the idea of having help with something she was seriously stressing over, but for the most part she finds it impossible that Toni would actually have a good idea. Of course, this doubt originates from the fact that she had yet to think of any ideas, so it only would make sense that Toni would have none.

Toni studies Shelby for a moment, a slight scowl on her face, but she replaces it with a neutral expression when she responds, “I have two at the moment, actually. I was thinking it would be cool to do a decades dance where each class picks a decade. The seniors obviously choose first, and then we go down the line. My other idea is that everyone dresses like one of their favorite fictional characters.”

“I suppose those are decent ideas,” Shelby admits, although she is too stubborn to admit just how good of ideas they actually are.

“Oh for the love of God Shelby,” Ms Klein exclaims, “They’re some of the best ideas that have been suggested in years. I might actually lose my sanity if I have to sit through one more fucking ‘Under the Sea’ themed dance.”

Shelby takes a deep breath and tries to ignore how freely Ms Klein swears. If she’s honest with herself, Shelby wishes she could swear that freely, but it’s hard to break from the cage her parents have trapped her in. She opts to reply, “I get that. I guess we could look into Toni’s ideas, but I have no clue when we would do that, especially since she has basketball practice every day after school.”

“We have study hall together every day Shelby!” Toni asserts, her patience clearly growing thin, “Unless of course you somehow haven’t noticed that. And as an added bonus, I know we don’t have gym tomorrow so we really have no choice but to start planning.”

“Exactly,” Ms Klein affirms, while also adding, “Which is why I’ve already written you two passes to the Student Council room to get to planning. And it’ll be good for whenever you need them. I do require that you use them at least once a week that way I know you’re both working together.”

Finally, Shelby realizes there’s no way of getting out of this so she concedes, “We can do that. Although we might have to meet more than once a week.”

“Well then it’s a good thing you two have the same lunch period as well in the event you can’t go to the Student Council room more than once,” Ms Klein reasons, picking up two sheets of paper off her desk and handing one to each girl, “There you go. That’s all I have for the two of you. You can leave now.”

“Oh, alright,” Shelby manages to get out before standing up out of her chair and walking out the office, Toni right behind her.

It isn’t until they make it to the main hallway that Toni speaks, “This is only happening because of your asshole of an ex-boyfriend.” And then Toni walks away, leaving behind Shelby to try and process just what that means.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> howdy! sorry it took so long to get this second chapter out. i was busy with the holidays as well as working on another fic, so i apologize for the delay!

“There is no way I’m working with her!” Toni exclaims to her friends as they walk into the school building, “She was already being pretentious yesterday, saying she didn’t need my help.”

“Toni,” Martha warns before she asks a rhetorical question, “Would you rather be off the team?”

“She has a point,” Nora adds, but her gaze is focused across the parking lot at her sister who is with her friends, Shelby included in that group. 

Toni shakes her head, annoyed at how she knows the two of them are right. It’s plan a stupid dance that she’ll only go to because Martha insists, or lose the only opportunity she has to get out of their small town. It doesn’t stop her gaze from following Nora’s over to the group as she picks out everyone over there. The next words out of her mouth are directed to Dot, “How the fuck does Fatin hang out with her?”

It’s well-known across school that after Dot’s dad died, Fatin’s parents opened up their home to her so that she would still be able to go to the same school for her senior year.

“Oh she hates it,” Dot admits, her eyes darting over to the group, “She complains about it all the time, but she has her reasons that I’m not at liberty to discuss with you guys.”

“You can’t leave us hanging like that. Tell us more,” Martha pushes in an attempt to get more information.

Toni is half paying attention to the conversation at first, too preoccupied with glaring at Shelby who just stares right back. It’s only when Martha nudges her that she pays attention, “What?”

“She wants you to help her gang up on Dot for info,” Nora explains as they all enter through the doors of the school. 

“I actually have one guess as to why,” Toni states, and when everyone gives her a confused stare, she tells them what she thinks, “She’s obviously into Leah, although I have no clue why Leah even hangs with them.”

“The same could be said for us,” Nora notes, ignoring the bombshell Toni had just dropped, “We don’t really fit together, but here we are, plus Fatin and my sister occasionally.”

“As right as Nora is about that, can we back up a second?” Dot asks, her voice serious as she continues, “You think Fatin likes Leah?”

Toni nods and asserts, “Most definitely. Although I don’t think she realizes it yet.” She pauses before jokingly warning, “Just you wait til that ‘Oh shit’ moment, Dot. You’ll be the first to hear about it.” Toni doesn’t know if she’s right, only knows that Fatin looks at Leah the way she once looked at Regan. It’s all based on conjecture but Toni likes taking risks, and she’s willing to take the risk that she’s right.

“And why haven’t you told us about this before?” Martha questions as they near the cafeteria, the noise from the cafeteria beginning to be too loud.

“Because it never came up Marty,” Toni quips before she begins to walk away from the group, “Now if you don’t mind, I have to go talk to Ms Klein about something and then mentally prepare myself so I don’t off myself during third period.”

\--------------------------

Shelby still can’t believe she has to plan a dance with Toni as she approaches the study hall room. It’s not that she hates Toni per se, but it’s more of the fact that Toni hates her. It’s out of her control though, so she plasters a smile on her face right before she walks into the room, standing in line in order to sign out of study hall. She notices that Toni is already in the midst of signing out, so she at least makes peace knowing that Toni is actually upholding the end of her deal. 

She isn’t surprised when Toni just scowls at her when she walks by and out of the room. In fact, she wouldn’t expect anything else from the girl. It doesn’t matter anyways, as Shelby shows her pass and signs out of study hall moments after Toni leaves the room. And it turns out that she catches up to Toni in the hall, because it appears as if Toni hadn’t been walking fast at all.

“Don’t even say anything,” Toni cautions as soon as Shelby falls into step beside her, “I can’t handle hearing your stupid fucking accent more than is absolutely necessary and that starts in the room.”

And Toni doesn’t say anything, having enough knowledge of Toni’s temper to know not to push the limits. However, silence can’t last forever and as soon as they walk into the Student Council room, Shelby opens her mouth to speak, but Toni beats her to it.

“So what’s our game plan?” Toni’s voice isn’t as angry as Shelby expects, but there’s still a hint of agitation. Sitting down in one of the chairs in the room, Toni looks up at Shelby, “I was thinking we settle on a theme today.”

Shelby’s taken aback at the fact that it sounds as if Toni actually put thought into their meeting, but she schools her face into a neutral expression as she sits down in the chair beside Toni. She agrees with Toni, “Yeah, I think that’s an excellent starting point. So what do we have so far?”

Toni stares at her, her jaw clenching and unclenching, but she ultimately answers, “Well there are the two ideas I suggested yesterday.”

“Which were?” Shelby questions, although she knows exactly what they were. She doesn’t know why she doesn’t acknowledge what they were, thinks maybe it has something to do with her own frustrations that she has to work with someone who can’t stand her.

Toni takes it in stride, however, even if there’s annoyance laced in her tone as she answers, “The whole decades dance where each class picks a decade, and the idea that people dress up as their favorite fictional character.” Then there’s a challenging look in her eyes as she questions, “What are your grand Texan ideas?”

A part of Shelby is annoyed that Toni has called out her being from Texas for the second time in the span of not even five minutes, but she also knows there are probably worse things Toni could bother her about. Plus, there’s the more pressing fact that she never came up with any themes for the dance. Fortunately, she’s able to take one of Toni’s ideas and twist it into something new as she suggests, “We could always do a color war dance. Similar to your decades dance, but with colors.”

“I would say not a bad idea if I knew you just hadn’t come up with it,” Toni says, a smirk on her face when Shelby frowns. Toni must see this as a victory as she presses on, “I mean it was obvious you did. I saw that half second of panic when I asked you. Did I, Toni Shalifoe, actually do something to outdo the great Shelby Goodkind? I’m shocked really. Maybe it’s a good thing Ms Klein made me help out with this. We might not have a dance that sucks ass.”

Shelby knows that without a doubt that Toni is trying to get a rise out of her, but she also doesn’t care. So maybe she lashes out and tells Toni, “I was perfectly fine planning this dance by myself. You shouldn’t even be a part of the planning, and from the sounds of it you should be off the basketball team too. Too much fighting with others.” She regrets it as soon as she says it, because while she knows she played into Toni’s trap, she’s also certain she played too well into it because it looks like Toni is one wrong word away from losing it.

The thing is, when Toni speaks, her voice is surprisingly calm albeit slightly louder than normal volume, “I’ll have you know it’s your asshole of an ex-boyfriend that’s been singling me out for his torment. I can’t help it if I fucking decide to stand up for myself.” The next sentence Toni says is where her voice cracks, “I should be able to walk down the hallways without my books being smacked out of my hands, or getting slammed into a locker.”

There’s no response on Shelby’s end; she has no idea what to even say to Toni. She’s actually surprised by the fact that Toni had said something to make herself vulnerable. Shelby knows Toni hates her, knows it has everything to do with her faith. A faith she has mixed feelings about herself, although she’s learned to bury all those mixed feelings in order to be the perfect daughter. A part of her wishes she could tell Toni that she doesn’t hate her at all. Wishes she could tell Toni the exact reason her family moved to Minnesota to begin with in the middle of freshman year, but those are memories and feelings she was taught to never talk about, especially the feelings side of things.

The moment of vulnerability on Toni’s end is over almost as quickly as it happened, because suddenly Toni is standing up and pacing back and forth behind Shelby in the tiny room they’re in. Then there’s a sigh and the sound of the door opening, “I’m going for a walk. You do whatever it is you do. I don’t care. I just can’t be here right now.”

Shelby listens to the door shut, expecting it to slam, but it doesn’t. She turns around to see Toni turning the corner and heading down the hallway. Then there’s the realization that they hadn’t even picked a theme for the dance, instead having spent the whole time arguing about mostly things not pertaining to the dance.

And, of course, the main thing had been Andrew. The boy she had told herself every day she loved since he asked her out at the beginning of sophomore year. A thing she had stopped telling herself about a month ago when he had finally broken things off after a nasty argument. 

It doesn’t matter though, it’s all in the past, at least that’s what Shelby tells herself. All she could do was move on, and if it involves planning a dance with the girl that had been brought up when Andrew broke up with her, so be it. 

She pulls a notebook out of her stack of books, writing down one thing in it, “ _Dance theme: Decades Dance”_

—————————————

Toni finds herself walking to basketball practice at the end of the day when Ms Klein stops her in the hall.

“Toni, I’m so glad I managed to catch you,” Ms Klein greets. 

There’s an instant fear that Shelby snitched on how she left their planning in the middle of the period. A fear that Ms Klein is about to tell her she’s off the team. That doesn’t stop her from replying with a greeting of her own, “Hey Ms Klein. What do you need?” She shifts on her feet nervously waiting for Ms Klein to say what she’s expecting, but it isn’t what comes out of her mouth. 

“Shelby came by to talk to me,” Ms Klein begins and Toni looks at the ground her fears confirmed, “She told me your first meeting went great. You two decided to go with one of the themes you brought up in my office yesterday.”

Toni looks up at Ms Klein, confused by how Shelby didn’t tell the truth, “She said that?”

Ms Klein studies her for a moment but answers, “Yeah she did. I just wanted to tell you I’m proud of you for putting your disdain for her aside to plan this dance. I’m just saying, it might be something worth putting on any last minute college applications. I know it’s already January, but I know kids are always sending in last minute applications.”

Toni could probably count on one hand the amount of times people told they were proud of her, so for Ms Klein to say it is something that came as a shock. She looks up from the floor, the faintest smile on her face, “Thanks, I’ll look into it. Especially with some teams contacting me about basketball scholarships, I’ve been looking into sending a few more applications.”

“Good, and your coach tells me there’s going to be a scout at the upcoming big game next Wednesday. It’s against our biggest rivals and could also clinch a spot in the playoffs. Definitely a good game to come to,” Ms Klein states before looking at her watch. She looks back up at Toni and pulls something out of her pocket, “I better let you get to practice. Shelby told me to give this to you if I ran into you. Something about forgetting to give you her number in case she needed to get in contact with you about the dance.”

Taking the piece of paper from Ms Klein, Toni glances at the note, instantly recognizing Shelby’s loopy script. She answers, “Thanks, I’ll be sure to text her right away. I’ll see you tomorrow.” 

“Have a nice night Toni,” Ms Klein says, walking away from Toni, back the way she had originally come from.

Toni looks back at the paper in her hand and pulls out her phone, typing in Shelby’s number before she sends a short text, knowing she can’t escape the inevitable.

**_Toni:_ ** _it’s toni. don’t text unless it’s urgent, thx_

The last thing she wants is Shelby Goodkind blowing her phone up with a million texts, so she hopes her message gets the point across as she shoves her phone back in her pocket and hurries off to practice.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i will see you all soon with another update, so stay tuned
> 
> also as a note i would just like to put it out there that everyone lives in minnesota with shelby moving there early on in high school. i also would like to note that shelby's struggle with religion will still be present and a main factor of her character, but possibly dialed back just a little bit. i can only handle so much religion stuff. i altar served for far too long growing up :C


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hi! i hope you all are well! enjoy chapter 3

It’s two days later on Friday when Toni finds herself in the parking lot, Shelby walking up to her along with her friends. The conversation she was having with her friends dies down as Shelby approaches.

“Hey Fatin and crew,” Dot greets when the group is finally close enough.

“Hey Dot, long time no see,” Fatin responds, “It’s almost like we drove here together.”

Toni just lets the conversation around her go on, simply waiting for Shelby to say whatever it is she needs. All she knows is that she sure as hell isn’t going to start the conversation with Shelby.

“God, it’s so weird how our friend groups overlap so much,” Leah observes out of the blue, explaining herself, “I mean Dot lives with Fatin, and Nora and Rachel are sisters. I’m just saying it’s weird we never all hang out together.”

“Ah well, maybe that’ll change,” Shelby begins, her eyes focused on Toni, “Because Toni and I really need to be planning the dance that’s coming up at the end of February, so I was hoping she would agree to get together during lunch today to talk about it.”

Toni can feel everyone’s eyes settle on her, and she knows she can’t refuse the suggestion, but she does offer a counterpoint, “What about study hall? We do have study hall today.”

Shelby just smiles, “Good point. We’ll meet then too. Double our time working on it together.”

“The good news is during lunch you’ll be able to get some awesome suggestions for how to make this dance amazing,” Fatin declares, but brings Rachel into the conversation, “Minus Rachel of course. I question her taste in music.”

Toni keeps her face neutral even though she’s angry under the surface, something Martha must pick up on as she places a hand and Toni’s shoulder and whispers, “Just accept it, it’s all you can do.”

Toni just nods at what Martha says before she responds to Shelby, “Sounds like a plan. Can’t wait.”

Nora steps forward then, “We should probably get going, the warning bell is set to ring right about now.” As if on cue, the warning bell goes off and the students around them begin hurrying towards the building. Nora just shrugs and says, “Guess I was right.”

——

Toni still cannot believe she has to spend eighty-four minutes with Shelby where talking to Shelby is absolutely necessary. At least in the two other classes she shares with Shelby, she’s able to ignore her, but now she has to spend study hall and lunch with her. To make things even worse, Toni is pretty certain the lunch thing is about to become a permanent occurrence.

She’s just walking into the study hall room when Shelby is walking out. Toni’s plan was to just brush past her, but Shelby has other plans, stopping Toni as she says, “Already signed you out.”

“Didn’t have to do that yanno,” Toni gets out through gritted teeth.

“But I did,” Shelby fires back, offering Toni her common smile everyone loves, but the one that Toni tells herself she absolutely despises. Shelby just stares at Toni when Toni doesn’t move, and suggests, “Come on, let’s go.” She begins to walk away, sending one last glance over her shoulder to make sure Toni is following.

Toni reluctantly follows after her, wishing she could be going anywhere that didn’t include Shelby. The only good part is that it seems Shelby remembers what Toni had said the other day about not wanting to hear her voice more than she has to, because Shelby doesn’t talk until they get to the room they meet in.

“So I was thinking we put together a Google Form to send out to the students about what decade they want,” Shelby begins, looking at Toni for her thoughts. 

Instead of answering her, Toni asks a question about something that had been nagging at her since Wednesday, “Why didn’t you tell Ms Klein I stormed off?”

Shelby doesn’t answer at first, instead opting to sit down in one of the chairs before she finally does respond, “I didn’t see the point, we had already picked a theme.”

Toni knows it’s a lie because she knows she left before they had even begun to discuss the themes in-depth. So she does what she does best and calls Shelby out on it, “No we hadn’t. All we did was say our ideas for a theme and then I left.”

“Can’t you just accept that I did you a favor so you could stay on the basketball team?” is all Shelby responds with, looking over her shoulder to Toni.

There’s one thing Toni doesn’t want in life and that’s a handout, specifically from Shelby Goodkind, but she’s also stuck between a rock and a hard place. It doesn't stop her, however, as she bitterly grumbles, “You didn’t have to.”

“Okay,” Shelby concedes, “I didn’t have to but I did. There’s nothing to be done about it now.” She stares at Toni for a moment—which makes Toni glare right back at her—before she directs, “Now can you just sit down so we can actually make a form for students to fill out.

“Whatever,” Toni mutters, but sits down in a chair, before questioning, “So how exactly is this form going to help? I mean if you send a separate one out to every grade, what if a grade picks the same decade?” She crosses her arms, focusing her gaze at the wall in front of her, although she watches Shelby from the corner of her eye.

Shelby is silent at first, opening a school laptop she had borrowed for the period and busies herself with logging in. While the computer is processing her information, she responds, “Excellent question. I was thinking we send one out to the senior class and leave it open til end of day Monday. Then we take the most voted answer and make it our choice, then we send another survey out to the junior class and tell them they can’t pick the decade we chose. And then so on.”

The idea makes sense, Toni recognizes this. It’s thought out and logical, but Toni isn’t going to admit that. Instead, she looks for something to fault, and knows exactly what to target since she’s guilty of it herself. She says to Shelby, “Wonderful idea, but you’re forgetting that the majority of students don’t check their emails. Like at all.”

“Already thought of that,” Shelby fires back, a confident smile on her face, “I spoke with some teachers who would be more than willing to make sure students fill it out in class on Monday. That way we can discuss results Tuesday and send out the next survey.”

“Fine,” Toni acknowledges, a scowl on her face at how Shelby had outsmarted her. It hurt to admit it, but she just wants Shelby to shut up already. Her Texas accent was driving Toni insane already, and she’s well aware of that fact that she has to make it through lunch with Shelby as well.

Shelby must see it as a victory because her smile grows even larger and then her attention is focused on the laptop as she starts opening up a form. It doesn’t stop her from talking, however, as she says, “I’m really hoping our class picks the 80s, what about you?”

Toni doesn’t answer, simply shrugging before opening her one notebook. She actually hadn’t thought about what she would want the senior class to pick, granted she really doesn’t care what they pick. It’s not like she’ll really be able to scrounge up the money to buy a good enough outfit for whatever decade it is they pick. She does remark, “I trust you can make those forms all by yourself. I’m gonna start brainstorming decoration ideas or whatever.”

Shelby just shakes her head and scoffs, but doesn’t say anything to let on to how she really feels about Toni’s lack of helping in making the forms. Instead, she just starts typing away on the laptop, leaving Toni to do as she pleases, which she does for the rest of the period.

——

“Marty, I’m gonna kill her,” Toni declares as the duo walks back to their lunch table, lunch trays in hand. The lunch table that is usually inhabited by only four, but has now added four more people. Her eyes land on Shelby, who insisted on sitting beside Toni, at the table and she makes one last remark to Martha, “I mean why does she insist on sitting beside me? I’m pretty sure she gets that I hate her Bible-thumping ass.”

“Toni,” Martha begins, her voice a warning tone, “Be nice. I know this isn’t ideal for you, but you’re gonna have to make do. And she’s probably sitting beside you because you two are the ones planning the dance.”

Toni sighs, knowing Martha’s right, and walks the rest of the way to the table. She sits down and looks anywhere but at Shelby beside her, hoping the blonde gets the point not to talk to her. 

It isn’t Shelby that speaks to Toni first, but actually Leah, “So I hear you’re the one that saved us from another ‘Under the Sea’ dance. I can’t thank you enough.”

Fatin, who is sitting beside Leah, speaks up then, “She may have done that, but now we have to put our trust in the other assholes in our grade to actually pick a good decade.”

“Knowing our grade, it’ll be the worst one imaginable,” Dot says, popping a fry into her mouth.

This earns an agreement from Fatin who also puts forth her own hopes, “You’re so right Dot, but I hope our grade has enough sense to vote for the 70s. I have a killer outfit that would go perfectly with that decade.”

“I agree with Fatin,” Leah begins, quickly glancing at Fatin, “The 70s would be awesome to do.”

Toni sees this as her chance to speak up, “Well whatever it is we pick, I’m wearing the most casual outfit possible.”

“You can’t do that,” Shelby objects, “It’s a dance, you have to dress up.”

“And I will be,” Toni retorts, “I’ll dress up according to whatever decade we choose, but I’m not showing up all fancy. You can’t say I’m wrong when the theme was my idea, and you never said it was formal.”

“Damn, I don’t always agree with Toni, but she’s right,” Rachel speaks up from her seat.

Nora builds off of her sister’s statement with, “True, but the dances have always been at least semi-formal.”

“Aha! See,” Shelby argues, poking Toni in the arm with a finger.

Toni moves away from Shelby at the contact, pushing into Martha as she hisses, “Don’t fucking touch me.” She can feel that she’s close to losing control, so she hugs her arms to her body and tightly squeezes her arms against herself as Shelby withdraws her finger. Everyone’s eyes on her and she can feel it as she takes a deep breath before she adds, “I don’t like being touched, that’s all.”

Martha takes over for Toni, saying, “And don’t worry about Toni’s attire, I’ll make sure she fits the theme.” She shoots Toni a knowing look that Toni recognizes all too well: accept the losing battle before things go to shit.

And Toni does accept that Martha will manage to come up with some outfit for her, for whatever decade the senior class picks, which she acknowledges, “Yeah, whatever Martha said.”

“You gotta let me help out with that,” Fatin tells Martha before suggesting an idea of her own, “If we do choose the 70s, and I’ll be sure people do, I can picture the perfect outfit for Toni. It’ll speak to who she is as a person.”

Laughter escapes a few people at the table, knowing exactly what Fatin is getting at. It’s Toni who calls attention to it, knowing it’ll bother Shelby even if the blonde won’t let it show, “Fatin, if you’re even getting at it making me look gay, I swear to God. I feel like I’ve explicitly told you we don’t have a uniform.” 

Her remark has the desired effect as Shelby shifts ever so slightly, only Toni picking up on it since she was looking for it. She doesn’t call attention to it, instead storing the knowledge away for later when she can use it against Shelby. Besides, the conversation is already continuing.

“She doesn’t seem to get that Toni,” Dot reveals, continuing, “Her opinion on cargo shorts has yet to change.”

“I’ve tried to tell her as well,” Leah adds, rolling her eyes at Fatin.

Toni just shoots Dot a look that says ‘I told you so,’ but then she’s engaging in the conversation again, “Regardless, I’ll take the offer. Besides, the 70s don’t seem that bad.” She only says that because she knows Shelby was rooting for the 80s, and anything to undermine what Shelby wants is exactly what Toni wants to partake in. So if it means accepting an outfit from Fatin, so be it. At least she knows she’ll have an accurate outfit as opposed to whatever she would’ve thrown together.

Any and all conversation on the dance stops then, as the topic shifts to the upcoming calculus test, and Shelby never tries to broach the topic of planning the dance the rest of lunch. Toni is certain it’s because of the reference to her sexuality, but she reminds herself it’s knowledge for a later date when she goes to call Shelby out on it. Instead, she just goes about the rest of the day, Shelby Goodkind the furthest thing from her mind.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i do enjoy writing through Toni's perspective more, so I sense that much of this fic will end up being her POV, but I'll cycle in some shelby POV here and there. until next time!


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i finished writing this last night, but then decided to throw on the last section just a few minutes ago. i thought it closed the chapter out better. plus, i got to spread my own agenda.

It’s Sunday evening after a last minute basketball practice that Toni runs into Leah, or rather Leah must notice her walking through town on her way to her foster home. There’s a light snow falling from the sky, just beginning to lay on the ground, and the air is cold.

“Toni, hey!” Leah calls out to her from across the street and then she’s running across the street to Toni, a smile on her face.

“Hey,” Toni greets when Leah is beside her, “What’s up?” She’s honestly surprised Leah spoke to her; they haven’t spoken to each other much unless the overlap in their friend groups called for it. There was one time over summer break at a party in the woods they had spoken, but Toni also knows she was sworn to secrecy on the topic. The last time Toni can remember them talking to each other under their own accord—without alcohol—was middle school when Leah joined the basketball team in order to appease her parents. Toni faintly recalls it ended with Leah breaking her arm.

Leah shrugs, “Not much. Just finishing up some errands for my mom. My dad is out of town on a business trip, so she asked if I could get some stuff.” Glancing around at the snow, Leah looks back to Toni, “What’s up with you?”

Toni looks anywhere but at Leah, not wanting to admit that she’s in the midst of the long walk back to her foster home in the current weather, but she has no other choice, so she answers, “Heading home from basketball. Coach wanted us to get a practice in to prepare for Wednesday’s game.” She chances a glance at Leah and sees that she’s frowning, which causes her to try and justify the fact that she’s walking, “It’s not that far, really. I make the walk all the time.”

“That’s nonsense,” Leah retorts, “Let me drive you there. It’s freezing out.” When Toni doesn’t say anything, she presses the matter further, “Come on, I’m not taking no for an answer if it means you’re walking in the snow.”

Relenting, Toni sighs and jams her hands in her pockets, “Fine, but only because you insist.” She doesn’t know why she’s being difficult over something as simple as a ride, but she reckons it has something to do with pride, not wanting many people to know she doesn’t have the luxury of having someone to talk her home.

Leah’s frown turns into a smile as she gestures towards where her car is parked, “Then let’s get going.” She turns and starts walking away towards the car, Toni reluctantly following behind.

——

The first half of the drive passes in silence, only broken when Toni gives Leah directions. As they go, the snow begins to pick up, and it isn’t until they’re at a stop sign that Leah breaks the silence in the car with a question.

“Do you remember what I told you at that one party over summer?”

Toni knows exactly what she’s referencing, but decides to answer the question with a question of her own, “You mean when you drunkenly walked up to me and told me something I wouldn’t tell someone I barely know?” She watches as Leah’s grip tightens on the steering wheel and knows she might’ve taken it too far, so she quickly adds, “Okay, that was uncalled for, I’m sorry. But I do know what you’re talking about.”

Leah bites her bottom lip and hesitates before she asks, “What did you think when I told you?”

“Well, if I’m being honest, I was caught off guard,” Toni begins, careful to make sure she doesn’t cross a line, sensing this is still a sensitive topic for Leah, “But I wasn’t necessarily surprised. Just surprised by who it was.” And then before she can stop herself, Toni is asking a question that had been nagging her since their encounter at the party, “Why me though? We don’t really talk to each other, especially at that point, so why me? You’re better friends with other people.”

“Because you’re so open about who you are. You don’t take anyone’s shit for who you are. And, even drunk, I realized that and I just had to tell someone,” Leah admits as she turns into Toni’s driving, turning off her headlights so they don’t shine into the house. She looks at Toni then, a torn expression on her face, and then she asks a question that exposes all her insecurities on the matter, “Do you think I even stand a chance with Fatin?”

Toni closes her eyes and takes a deep breath before reopening them, and then responds, “I told you Leah, I don’t want to interfere with this. You just have to let things play out however that will.” She’s well aware she could just tell Leah that Fatin likes her back, but if Fatin hasn’t realized how she feels for Leah yet, it would only end in disaster, so she keeps her mouth shut.

“Answering my question won’t interfere with anything,” Leah responds, a challenging look in her eyes.

Toni looks towards the dark house and then back to Leah as she opens the passenger door, “Oh, but it will. I’m not telling you what I think. Just let it play out. Reaching down to unfasten her seatbelt she continues speaking, “And thanks for the ride. I do appreciate it.” She steps out of the car and goes to close the door, but Leah’s voice stops her.

“Do you need a ride to school tomorrow?”

Toni shakes her head, then realizes it’s dark out so she responds, “Nah, Marty usually picks me up. Thanks for the offer though.”

“Yeah no problem, but the offer is there if you ever need it,” Leah replies, and then finally bids farewell, “I’ll see you tomorrow then.”

Toni waves, “Oh yeah, nothing like first period physics.” The last thing she hears is a chuckle from Leah as she closes the door and trudges off towards the house. She isn’t surprised it’s dark, it usually is with her current foster family out of town most weeks. She’s briefly casted in light when Leah turns her headlights on to drive once again, but is quickly back in the darkness as she fumbles for the key in her pocket.

Once inside the house, she makes her way to her room, only stopping to grab a banana off the counter before she continues up the stairs to her room. She has to admit, this is one of the nicer homes she’s been in. While the parents aren’t usually there, they always make sure Toni has enough food to last, even leaving a little bit of money in the event she wants to order food from somewhere, although she rarely does, a part of her fearful it’s all a trick to accuse her of stealing money. 

When she opens the door to her room, she throws her basketball bag down on the floor, and throws herself onto the bed, not caring that she’s still dirty from practice, only caring about the fact that she’s hungry and tired.

It isn’t until she’s finished her banana that she gets up to shower, effectively beginning her nightly routine to get ready for bed.

——

It isn’t until second period that Toni remembers about the Google Form the senior class is supposed to be filling out for the dance. In fact, only remembering because as students walk into class, the teacher is directing them all to get a laptop and login, saying there’s something the Student Council needs all seniors to fill out. 

Toni does as she’s told, getting a laptop as she makes her way to her seat beside Martha and logging in. 

“So what decade are you voting for?” Martha asks as Toni slides into her seat. Martha’s already in the midst of logging onto her laptop, and while she waits, she begins to get out her notebook for the class.

Opening her laptop, Toni responds, “Probably the seventies since Fatin brought it up. I don’t really care what we choose.” It isn’t a lie; the only decade she doesn’t want is the eighties, purely because that’s what Shelby wants, which Martha calls her out on.

“But you do,” Martha counters, “You know by voting for what Fatin brought up, you’ll undermine the one Shelby wants. She told me what she’s rooting for.”

“That’s just a bonus,” Toni remarks, her attention now on her laptop as she types in her username and password, “Plus I can’t turn down a free outfit from Fatin.” 

Martha is silent at first, but then asks, “Since when are you and Fatin so close? You’ve brought her up twice in the span of like a minute, and I don’t think you’ve brought her up more than twice in the past week.”

“Not true,” Toni answers, and she has a feeling Martha is going to kill her for her next comment, but she says it regardless, “I’ve brought her up twice in the past week. The other day when we were walking into school. I talked about her twice. Your argument is therefore void.” She looks at Martha to see her staring right back, an annoyed look on her face.

“You knew what I meant,” Martha retorts before looking back at her computer, “The question still stands though.”

Toni thinks about it for a moment. Her and Fatin were never close, but they always seemed to get each other. If they shared classes, they would always partner up if there was a project, but their friendship never really went further than that, especially when Fatin began hanging around Shelby. “We just talk in class, that’s all,” Toni finally admits, and that’s the end of the conversation, because then the teacher is explaining what they’re supposed to do after they finish voting.

——

It isn’t until lunch that Toni has to deal with Shelby. She was becoming increasingly thankful for gym class, if only because it saved her from being trapped in a room and forced to endure the Texas drawl of Shelby. In fact, as soon as she sits at the table, she’s bombarded by Shelby.

“Good, you’re finally here,” Shelby begins, her face determined as she continues, “I wanted to talk about what we should get done tomorrow during study hall.”

“Sounds like a tomorrow conversation,” Toni quips, sitting down on her seat, beside Shelby once again. 

“But then we would spend the whole period talking about what we should be doing instead of doing it,” Shelby huffs out.

“I think that’s the point,” Nora states, looking up from the notebook she had been writing in.

Toni smirks and points towards Nora, “See, she gets it.” At the back of her mind, she recognizes the dance does need to get planned; decorations just won’t appear out of thin air overnight. But they’re still just planning it and can afford a day of slacking off. She expects Shelby to be annoyed with her, but what she doesn’t expect is for Shelby to get as annoyed as she does.

“Toni, I know you don’t care about this dance,” Shelby gets out before her tone becomes more annoyed, “It is becoming increasingly clear how little you care about it. I’m aware you’re only helping to stay on the basketball team, but you could at least try.”

Silence envelopes the table, no one knowing what to say, some worried about how Toni is going to react. Everyone knows just how bad her temper can be; the story of her throwing her own urine at someone is a popular story amongst those at the school. 

“You’re right. I don’t care,” Toni admits, her tone surprisingly calm, especially as she clarifies, “But I am trying.” Toni herself is amazed at how she managed to keep her cool, and she notes all her friends are based upon their facial expressions. She’s mad, of course she is at Shelby’s accusation, but it just doesn’t seem worth it to get worked up over this. Besides, she has the perfect counter for Shelby’s accusation of her not trying, it’s just a matter of revealing it at the right time.

“Oh yeah?” Shelby challenges, “Besides suggesting the theme of the dance, you haven’t done anything else. I’m the one that made the forms for voting, and I’m also the one who’s getting the results for that. Nothing else has been done.”

And there it is, the perfect time to prove that she’s actually trying to plan the dance. She actually laughs at the perfect timing of it, earning a few concerned looks from those at their table, but she doesn’t acknowledge them. Instead, she looks Shelby dead in the eye and simple states, “That’s funny, because Mr Faber and Ms Klein fucking loved my suggestions for decorations. Mr Faber practically shit himself in surprise at the fact I came up with the ideas on my own since he doesn’t think much of me. So yeah, I am trying.” And she doesn’t even care that she just sat down with her lunch, she picks it right back up as she stands, balancing it on top of her books as she walks away to some place she can eat in private.

——

It isn’t until later that night when Toni is making some form of dinner for herself that her phone goes off. She doesn’t look at it immediately, too preoccupied with finishing making her macaroni and cheese, but when she finally settles down in a seat with a bowl, she slides her phone out of her pocket, only to discover Shelby had texted her. 

**_Shelby:_ ** _ Hey, I’m sorry about lunch today. I didn’t know you had gotten so far with decorations. Maybe we can talk about it tomorrow? _

Toni scoffs and rests her phone on her knee as she starts to eat her macaroni and cheese, Spongebob shaped which she will tell anyone is the best kind. There’s the option of simply not replying and making Shelby suffer until tomorrow, but Toni’s also feeling fairly victorious in the fact that she managed to show Shelby up with her news about decorations. So with that in mind, Toni sends a response.

**_Toni:_ ** _ cool, sounds good _

And with that settled, he focuses on finishing her dinner, not bothering to look at her phone again when it goes off next. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> my agenda was that Spongebob Kraft Mac and Cheese is the superior type of Kraft Mac and Cheese, that is all. i shan't be taking criticism on the matter. anyways! i hope you all enjoyed this chapter! i know it didn't have a lot of shelby and toni interaction, but i also want to build up to latin a little bit, as well as how toni interacts with other characters.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hi friends! i'm back again with another update. i just want to mention this chapter briefly mentions eating disorders, so please take that into account as you get towards the end of the chapter!

The next day, third period comes all too quickly. Toni walks into study hall with someone from the basketball team, which is the only thing keeping her mood somewhat pleasant. They’re just wrapping up a conversation about their upcoming practice before the big game the following day. It’s nice talking about basketball, even better when she lets her mind drift to how physical the game will be due to the rivalry between the two schools. But the conversation ends as the girl rushes off to join her friends who also have study hall, leaving Toni to sign out as quickly as she can so she’s able to avoid Shelby for as long as she can.

Fortunately, she makes it out of the room before Shelby even makes it there, the late bell sounding as Toni steps out of the room. For a brief second she wonders where Shelby is at, remembers seeing Shelby in the parking lot before school, but she brushes it off and makes her way to the cramped room she has to spend the rest of the period in. 

Except Shelby isn’t there when she gets there, although it makes sense since she hadn’t seen Shelby’s name on the sign-out sheet. If there’s one thing Toni knows, it’s that the Goodkinds are known for one thing, and that is their ability to always be on time. So yeah, it’s weird that Shelby isn’t there, but Toni doesn’t care. The less time she has to spend with Shelby the better, but Shelby’s absence doesn’t stop her from getting her one folder out from her stack of school stuff to retrieve the papers with her list of decoration ideas that had been torn out of her one notebook. 

Then she waits. Waits for Shelby to show up, and when five minutes go by and Shelby isn’t there, Toni contemplates texting Shelby, but then the door is creaking open and someone shuffles in, closing the door behind them.

“Sorry I’m late,” comes the Southern drawl belonging to Shelby Goodkind, but lacking the usual upbeat tone. In fact, sounding almost shaky, and when Shelby sits down, Toni can see why.

To Toni, Shelby looks like she had been crying, her eyes read and puffy with some of her makeup smeared. The blonde is far from her normal well put together self, and Toni would be lying if she said it didn’t concern her slightly. Of course, her reasoning for her concern is that it’s bizarre to realize someone you despise is human, but it doesn’t stop her from asking, “Are you okay?” She tells herself she’s just being a decent person by asking, convincing herself of that sentiment.

Shelby shakes her head and waves a hand dismissively, “I’m fine. Let’s just talk about dance decorations.”

“You’re not fine though,” Toni counters, and she really doesn’t know why she’s pushing it. Maybe it’s because she hates seeing other people sad and broken, especially after her own personal experiences of feeling exactly that way as she went from foster home to foster home. Whatever the reason, she can’t let it go.

“And what do you care?” Shelby questions, her tone turning angry and defensive, “Let’s just get to the dance.”

Toni plays with her pencil, slightly uncertain how to respond because Shelby is right; she doesn’t care, but there’s a small part of her that does. The part that Martha has frequently remarked is the compassionate side that she constantly hides from the world. She stares at Shelby a few seconds longer, but drops it, instead suggesting, “Before we get to that, we should probably discuss what decade the senior class chose so you can send out the next survey.”

“Oh right, the results,” Shelby begins, reaching for her phone, “I checked them this morning. The seventies won. Fatin is getting what she wanted.” She looks down at her phone, and adds, “Yeah, the seventies managed to get seventy percent of the vote.”

“She’ll be happy to hear that at lunch,” Toni replies, her gaze focused on Shelby to gauge her reaction to the fact that the seventies won.

“Yeah, she will be,” Shelby says before she suggests, “I can send the other survey out to the junior class while you start telling me about your decoration ideas.” She’s already tapping away on her phone before Toni even replies.

Toni shrugs it off, surprisingly eager to show off her ideas. She’s proud of them, coming up on them all on her own. She normally isn’t creative, but the idea of suggesting something better than Shelby had fueled her to brainstorm the ideas that already received rave reviews from Ms Klein and Mr Faber. She picks up the first sheet of paper she has scribbled her notes on and begins to explain her first idea, “So for wall decor, I was thinking about how we’re doing a decades dance, and I thought about how a lot of people would probably get their inspiration from notable characters from that decade. Which led me to the idea of ordering movie posters off Redbubble or something, with a few different movies for each decade. The most well-known ones of course. I already brainstormed a few ideas.”

Looking up from her phone, Shelby reaches for the paper in Toni’s hand, which Toni releases, allowing Shelby to examine the list she had created. “Looks good to me. We’ll have to get those ordered once we get all the responses from the grades,” Shelby finally says, handing the paper back to Toni as she asks, “How much do you think it’s cost?”

Toni looks down at another piece of paper where she had written down prices in order to double check the price before she answers Shelby, “It depends. The ones I looked at have two sizes. The smaller ones are about fifteen dollars, and the bigger ones were twenty-two. I didn’t know what the budget was, but Mr Faber said we could probably swing it.”

“Yeah, it should work out I reckon,” Shelby confirms, her attention back on her phone to send the next survey out, but she continues talking, “Do you have any other ideas?” There’s a sense of hostility to the question, as if Shelby wants the conversation to be over, which Toni picks up on.

Toni nods, then remembers Shelby is too busy looking at her phone, so she explains, “I do. They’re not as good, pretty generic actually, but I was just thinking balloons or something. They would serve to fill up some of the empty space we’ll have.” She pauses, debating her next words, before deciding to admit, “I really didn’t have much past the posters, but they seemed to be a hit with the people who dictate what we can buy.”

Shelby stays silent as she finishes sending out the survey, setting her phone down on the table before her attention shifts fully to Toni. Her tone is accusatory when she finally opens her mouth to talk, “Which you didn’t even consult me about. This is supposed to be a team effort, and I was completely in the dark about it.”

Shrugging, Toni replies, “I don’t know what you want me to say. Ms Klein stopped me Friday after school to see how I was doing with this. Then Mr Faber walked by and it went from there.” Toni frowns when Shelby just continues to glare at her, and she feels the need to ramble more than she already feels she had been, “Okay, maybe it was wrong I didn’t tell you about it, but it just didn’t come up.”

“Because I didn’t know any of it had happened!” Shelby replies, her tone bordering on anger, far from the shaky tone she had entered the room with just minutes prior.

Toni stares at Shelby, taken aback by the outburst, but she doesn’t feel the usual anger bubbling in her chest that she normally would when someone has an angry tone with her. Instead, she just feels confused by the sudden shift, but recognizes just how fine the line between sadness and anger is. She’s walked that tightrope enough times to know how quickly one can turn into the other. There’s another beat of silence, the two just staring at each other, but then Toni asks, “Are you okay?”

The question hangs in the air, and then Toni watches as Shelby’s face falls, and the anger that had just been there dissipates into something more vulnerable, quickly replaced with a neutral expression. Toni can only assume Shelby is reconstructing whatever façade it is she shows to the world.

“I’m fine,” Shelby asserts, but does reveal some information, “It was nothing. Andrew and I just got into a fight and he said some things. Things I definitely don’t want to talk about with you. So, please, just drop it.”

And Toni does, just lets out an annoyed scoff, and turns back to the papers in front of her to distract herself from the anger she feels brewing for Andrew. Anger that she can’t act on, at least on school grounds, since the threat of being thrown off the team looms over her head. It’s not that she feels bad for Shelby, she just hates how Andrew treats everyone like shit, and she’s tired at how he gets away with it.

They don’t talk about it for the rest of the period, though, instead continuing to discuss decorations for a few more minutes before drifting into silence, both left to their own thoughts.

——

Practice ends early that day, what with their game the following day. Toni’s the last one to leave the locker room and she heads out by herself. Diving practice must’ve been done at the same time, however, because as she’s making her way towards the exit of the school, she hears Rachel call out to her.

“There she is, the great basketball star,” Rachel shouts from behind Toni, and then two sets of footsteps can be heard making their way towards Toni.

Nora is with Rachel, which doesn’t surprise Toni, but she greets Toni with, “Hey Toni.”

“Hey you two,” Toni says when both girls catch up to her, “Did your practice end early too?”

The trio starts to continue on out of the school as Rachel responds, “Yeah, there’s a meet tomorrow, which sucks because I wanted to come to the basketball game. It’s the biggest game of the year for the team.”

“I mean, there’s a chance of the meet being over before seven,” Nora remarks from beside Rachel, “And your meet is home as well, so there’s no travel time. Just the walk to the gym.”

“Diving happens during the swim meets right?” Toni asks, uncertain as to how it all works, and having minimal exposure to sport.

Rachel nods, “For the school it does. They’ve tried to get me to swim as well since I’m there, but I turn them down every time.”

“Which is ridiculous,” Nora notes, “You’re incredibly good at fly. I don’t get why you never gave it a shot.”

Rachel bumps her shoulder into Nora as she replies, “Because, Nora, diving is my goal. I don’t want to risk an injury because I decided to swim. Fly can lead to shoulder issues that I can’t risk.”

Toni listens to the two bicker back and forth for a few more minutes as they walk, taking in how it just seems like something they do constantly, but she can feel there’s no malice in it. There’s nothing but sisterly love in it. She’s heard about how, junior year, Rachel struggled with pushing herself too far, and even struggled with an eating disorder for part of the year. She doesn’t know how much of it is true, although she assumes a lot of it is based upon comments Nora would make here or there, or the numerous days Nora was absent last year around the time rumors about Rachel made their way through the school. Whatever the story is with Rachel, Toni has always gotten along with her, although she has a feeling their competitive nature helped build a mutual respect between them.

Toni has always been closer with Nora, however, befriending her at some point in middle school when she didn’t have any classes with Martha. Her and Nora were two polar opposites, in fact they still are, but their dynamic works. Nora’s the logic behind everything in their main friend group, and Toni is the one who reacts off of impulse and emotion. 

By this point, the trio has made their way to the Reids’ car, and are all standing around, the bickering of the two siblings dying down and Toni emerging from her thoughts.

“Do you need a ride?” Nora asks while Rachel tosses her bags into the trunk, taking Nora’s bookbag as well.

Toni looks around, not wanting to look like the girl who needs a ride two days in a row, albeit from two different entities, but she knows not walking home would be nice, especially with the game tomorrow, so she answers, “If it’s not any trouble, yeah.”

“Of course not,” Rachel assures, having made her way back to the group, “We’re happy to take you home. Just type it into my phone so I can get directions.” She pulls her phone out of her pocket, unlocks it, and hands it off to Toni who takes it.

Typing her address into the Maps app, Toni says, “Thanks for this. I appreciate it.” When she finishes, she hands the phone back to Rachel.

Both girls nod, and then everyone’s climbs into the car, Toni in the backseat, and Nora and Rachel in the front seat. Rachel’s driving, and as she pulls out of the parking lot, she says to Toni, “If you ever need a ride home from practice, we’d be happy to help out. You live on the way to our house, so it’s just along the way.”

“Please accept the offer so that I don’t have to be alone in a car with her as much,” Nora pleads from the front seat, effectively earning a glare from Rachel.

Toni laughs at that and responds, “Only to save you from Rachel will I agree to that.”

Rachel shakes her head, “You two are assholes, you know that? I’m banning you both from this car.”

“You can’t do that. This car is mine too,” Nora points out.

“But I’m the one who drives it the most,” Rachel retorts while she makes a right turn. 

Nora frowns, but manages to fire back, “But that’s only because you won’t let me drive. Every time I try to, you play the older sibling card.”

“Hey that’s not fair,” Toni inputs from the backseat, “You gotta let Nora drive sometimes. She can’t help it that you were born first.” Toni realizes she likes taking part in this banter, realizes that she wishes she had a sibling she could easily bicker with like this where the words really aren’t meant to be taken harshly.

“Okay fine,” Rachel relents, “We can take turns. You can drive to school and I can drive home. Or vice versa. Whichever works.”

“See, now you’re getting somewhere,” Toni says, which earns her an eye roll from Rachel.

Nora turns around in her seat to look at Toni and respond, “Thank you for that, Toni. And now you’re my witness to her saying I could drive.”

Toni smirks back at Nora, “I’ll put my hand on the fucking Bible and swear to it if need be.”

“You two are ridiculous,” Rachel exclaims, stopping at a red light, “Sometimes I wonder how you two became friends, and then I’m brutally reminded whenever we hang out together and you two gang up on me.”

“What can I say?” Toni asks before answering the question herself, “Sometimes it’s the differences in character that make a friendship pretty fucking amazing.”

“Hell yeah!” Nora adds, a smile on her face as she turns back around in her seat.

And that’s how the rest of the car ride goes. Toni helps Nora gang up on Rachel, and then Rachel calls them out for it before they all erupt in laughter. It’s a nice experience to just enjoy the presence of a close friend and then someone who’s on the outer edge of becoming a close friend. Toni knows she would protect both of them if the need ever arose, much like she would protect most everyone in her now expanded main friend group. She’s almost sad when they pull up in front of her foster home, but she pushes the thought away, instead telling the twins she’ll see them tomorrow for more chaos at the lunch table, before retreating into the house so she can focus on her homework.

And if maybe the thought of how to retaliate against Andrew for making Shelby cry earlier that day crosses Toni’s mind, well, she wouldn’t admit it, even to herself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i hope you all enjoyed this chapter! i'm enjoying writing the different dynamics with all the different characters to break it up from just all toni and shelby. i do plan on doing one big group scene soon; i'm just working on writing dialogue when there are a lot of people. regardless, i'll see you all soon with an update! take care everyone :D


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this chapter is both somewhat a filler chapter and somewhat important to push the plot forward. it's one of those weird ones you know? idk if that makes sense. ANYWAYS, i hope you enjoy this chapter!

Game time the following night rolls around all too quickly. Toni loves midweek games; they give her a little boost halfway through the week, something she’s able to look forward to, and if they win, the joy of victory carries her through the rest of the week. Sure, they sometimes would play games later in the week, but there was something about Wednesday night games that just made them her favorite. Whatever the reason, her mood is at an all time high as she prepares for the game, even higher since she barely spoke to Shelby during the day because they had gym and then at lunch Shelby only spoke to her if it was necessary.

“You ready to lead us to victory tonight, captain?” Kinsley, the only freshman to make varsity, asks as everyone slowly congregates around Toni at the question.

“Hell yeah she is,” Josie, a fellow senior, answers for Toni, an excited expression on her face.

“I overheard Coach telling someone two scouts are going to be here,” Alyssa, a junior, tells everyone, before she reveals, “I think he said one was from UConn and the other from Appalachian State.”

A whistle escapes Toni at that. Everyone on the team, hell everyone in general, knows UConn is one of the best women’s college basketball teams, if not the absolute best one. The fact that they traveled to their tiny Minnesotan town is an amazing feat. Appalachian State is no joke either. Toni had been fielding a few offers from other colleges regarding scholarships, but if she could secure one from either of these schools, it would be her first offer from a Division I school. Then, she realizes her teammates are waiting for her to say something, and she tries to motivate them with, “Look, those are some fucking awesome schools, but we can’t get in our heads about them. Right now, we have one goal: beat Deer Valley. Who cares that scouts are here, we just have to go out and do what we know how to do. Who’s with me?”

A chorus of “Me” rings out across all her teammates, and then Toni is putting her arm out, everyone stacking their hands on top of hers.

“Firebirds on three!” Toni yells, the sound echoing off the walls of the locker room. 

Everyone is bouncing back and forth on their feet as Toni counts, “One….Two….Three!”

“Firebirds!” Everyone yells while they lift their hands up, the energy in the room charged with excitement at the prospect of the game. Then they’re all rushing out of the locker room onto the court where their coach is waiting to give them a pep talk of his own before they warm up.

“Alright, you girls know what you need to do,” Coach Thorne begins, clipboard in her hands as she talks, “Deer Valley doesn’t stand a chance against us if you guys just do what we’ve practiced. This is the first time we’re playing them this year, but I’m confident we can win this. You girls have given it your all in practice to prepare for this game, now let’s go win this game!”

There was a chorus of cheers that went up from the team at Coach Thorne’s words, and then they were rushing onto the court to do their warmups before the game.

“You guys know the drill, get to shooting,” Toni directs, running towards the net so she can retrieve the ball from whoever shoots first.

——

It’s right before the team would take the court for tip off that Toni looks at the people in the stands to see who’s there. The first person she notices is Martha, but sitting on the bleachers with Martha is the majority of their friend group, recent expansion and all. The only one missing is Shelby, but then—much to Toni’s dismay—Shelby is making her way down the bleachers in between Martha and Rachel.

Toni can’t place the reason it irks her that Shelby sat beside Martha, and doesn’t even have time to dwell on it as her coach is urging the starters to take the court. Looking around, Toni realizes she’s the only one not to be on the court yet, so she rushes out to her position for tip off.

——

Toni isn’t doing well at the end of the first half of the game, missing most of her shots as well as passes. Not to mention the three fouls she managed to accrue, but she blames that on shitty referees who aren’t calling fouls on the other team who are doing some underhanded stuff. But it still stands that she isn’t doing well during possibly the biggest game of her high school career thus far.

All because of Shelby Goodkind.

Shelby _fucking_ Goodkind.

Toni doesn’t know why she’s so distracted by her in the stands, it’s almost maddening she thinks. Usually she’s able to ignore the crowd, tune everyone out, but tonight she just seems to keep noticing how Shelby interacts with her friends, especially Martha.

“Toni,” Coach Thorne says, pulling Toni out of her thoughts while also pulling Toni aside from the rest of the team, her voice loud enough Toni could hear in the noisy gym but quiet enough no one else could hear, “I’m going to be frank with you; you look like shit out there. Now I know it isn’t the scouts, you’ve played in front of a bunch of them. So what’s up?”

Toni stares down at the ground, knowing Coach Thorne is right, but she looks up at her to respond, “Nothing. I just had a bad half. I’ll turn it around in the second half.” Her gaze drifts over her coach’s shoulder to where her friends and Shelby are sitting, her gaze landing on Shelby.

Coach Thorne must pick up on it because she turns to look where Toni’s gaze went, and when she turns around, there’s a frown on her face as she tells Toni, “I don’t want to get in the middle of whatever is going on with you and that girl in the bleachers, but forget about it on the court. Now come on, the game is about to get going again.”

Toni nods in agreement, causing Coach Thorne to walk away. However, Toni continues to stare in Shelby’s direction until the blonde locks eyes with her, and then Toni is turning and running back out onto the court, trying to clear her head of anything relating to Shelby. It works for the most part.

——

Toni manages to turn her game around in the second half. She doesn’t know how she managed to do it, but as the end of the game approaches the game is tied up. Fortunately, for the Firebirds, they have possession of the ball, and are headed down the court with the ball.

This is the part of a game Toni loves but also hates. The intensity of the game is amazing, it gives her a rush of adrenaline where everything slows down. On the flip side, however, every action taken is crucial, and there’s no room for mistakes. The pressure can be intense, and sometimes she feels like she’ll crack under the pressure, but she has yet to in her four years. It’s part of what made her captain: her ability to keep her cool under pressure. Toni doesn’t know how she doesn’t crack though, only knows that they need to score and they win the game. 

Kinsley has the ball, dribbling across midcourt, and then she passes to Skylar—the probable team captain next year—who then quickly passes the ball to Kinsley. It’s effortless, having meshed really well as a team throughout the season. There’s only four seconds left when Kinsley passes the ball to Toni.

As Toni receives the pass with three seconds left, she manages to evade her coverage at the three point line. It’s a shot she doesn’t take frequently, but there isn’t enough time to pass it to anyone else, so she jumps and takes the shot. The only thing she can do now is watch as it heads towards the net. She swears it’s like watching something in slow motion, but then the buzzer is sounding right as the ball goes through the hoop, nothing but net, and that’s when the cheering starts.

What happens next passes in a blur for Toni, all her teammates are crowding around her and it just feels so right. She hopes she proved to Coach Thorne that it was just a bad first half, that she proved to the scouts that she is a good player to offer a scholarship to. It feels good to know her shitty gameplay didn’t end up costing them the game. 

The celebration of the win quickly draws to a close, however, as Coach Thorne is ushering them all back to the bench so she can talk to them, and when everyone is seated on the bench, she starts her speech.

“That was a nice shot Shalifoe,” Coach Thorne praises at first before she continues on, “This was a close game; closer than I would’ve liked, but we won and that’s what matters. If we keep playing the way we are, we stand a good chance of winning the district title again, maybe even the state title if we work hard enough. You all played your hearts out tonight. Kinsley you showed some great confidence for a freshman up against a team of predominantly juniors and seniors.” Everyone claps at that, and Coach Thorne pauses for a moment for it to settle down, “I’m proud of the work you all put in tonight. You all helped secure this win, which wasn’t an easy feat. Now off to the locker room you guys go! Take it easy the rest of the night, because you know tomorrow's practice will be here before you know it. I have some people to talk to, but if you need me I’ll still be here.”

The team lets out various sounds of acknowledgement and then they’re rushing off to the locker room to get ready to head home.

——

After changing out of her uniform, showering, and putting on normal clothes, Toni walks out of the locker room after all her teammates leave, one thing on her mind: going home and collapsing in bed. She’d do her homework in the morning, or even during study hall as her and Shelby discussed the junior class results and Shelby sent out the survey to the sophomore class. Her plans, however, are cut short when Coach Thorne and a man approach her.

“Toni! There you are. I was getting scared I missed you leaving,” Coach Thorne begins before introducing the man beside her, “This is Clay Snyder from Appalachian State. He wanted to talk to you.”

There’s a smile on Clay’s face as he extends a hand to Toni, “It’s nice to meet you Toni. And please, just call me Clay.”

“It’s nice to meet you too,” Toni replies, taking his hand and shaking it. She studies Clay, observing his tall frame and seemingly easy going nature. He’s older, that much she knows, as his hair is predominantly gray with a few patches maintaining a dirty blond color. 

“Well I’ll leave you two to it,” Coach Thorne declares, taking a few steps backwards, “I have to go take care of something, but I’ll be back to talk to you Clay.”

“Take your time,” Clay advises, “There’s a lot I want to talk to Toni about.”

Coach Thorne nods and walks away, while Clay gestures towards a spot on the bleachers for him and Toni to sit on. 

“Toni, I’d be lying if I said your gameplay in the first half didn’t give me a fright,” Clay starts to say once they’re seated, “It was a far cry from what your coach had sent us, but you didn’t disappoint in the second half.” He pauses for a moment before continuing, “That being said, you’re a phenomenal player. You remind me a bit of Danielle Robinson if I’m being honest. You’re quick on the court and know how to generate plays.”

Toni doesn’t know what to do with the compliment. She’s no stranger to who some of the best WNBA point guards are, so to be compared to one of her all-time favorites is something she wasn’t expecting. She does manage to say, “Thank you. That means a lot.”

Clay nods and continues speaking, “It’s the truth, but I am concerned about your discipline on and off the court. With all the good stuff your coach sent us, there came a decent amount of concerns. As I understand it you almost got kicked off the team?”

Toni slowly nods, knowing this is probably the part where Clay tells her she isn’t cut out for Appalachian State, but she does try to explain the circumstances, “It’s true. I’ve had a lot of instances where I’ve gotten in trouble on and off the court. I probably shouldn’t still be on the team, but I truly am trying to work on it.” It’s a somewhat truth she reasons, but she continues to ramble, “Basketball is one of the few constants in my life and I’m serious about it. I promise I can keep it under control.”

“Toni,” Clay interjects, “I hear you, and I know how much the game means to you. It was an escape for me growing up too. And I know you called it a constant, but it’s also an escape. One of the few places you feel like you have control. I can’t say we’re exactly the same, but we do share that.” There’s a pause as he stares at Toni for a few seconds before he concludes, “Which is why I had a long talk with my co-workers and some higher ups at the college. Now, I’ll be emailing you the majority of the information, but the bottom line is if you manage to stay out of trouble on and off the court for the rest of the school year, there’s an athletic scholarship waiting for you at the end of it, and I’m confident you’ll do it.”

Toni opens her mouth to say something to that, but she can’t find the words; she’s too overcome by her emotions by the news. A part of her is certain this is all part of a dream, but she knows it isn’t. Knows all too well this is no dream and she just was offered an athletic scholarship to a Division I college, pending she stays out of trouble. Clay doesn’t seem to be expecting a response right away, she notices, instead he seems content sitting there while she fumbles for her words. She’s also trying to figure out how he figured out what all basketball represented to her, but it’s not as pressing as the weight of what was just offered to her.

“You don’t have to say anything right now,” Clay finally says once it’s apparent Toni can’t seem to formulate a sentence, “I know it’s a lot to take in, but just know we’d be happy to have you. You’d make a real difference on our team.”

“Thank you, sir,” Toni rushes out when she regains her composure, “This offer is truly amazing. I honestly can’t believe you’re offering it to me.”

Clay sighs, a faraway look on his face, but then he’s back looking at Toni as he says, “Well, Toni, sometimes people just need others to take a chance on them. It’s a decision that can make all the difference.” Clearing his throat, he stands up, “I really do hope you take us into consideration. Like I said, I’ll be emailing you with all the exact details, as well as Coach Thorne. It was a pleasure to be able to talk to you Toni. I hope to hear from you soon.”

“Of course!” Toni assures as Clay begins to walk away in the direction Coach Thorne had gone. When he’s gone, she sits there for a few more minutes, trying to process what just happened, but then Dot and Fatin are descending upon her.

“There she is, our very own hero of the game,” Dot proclaims when they’re close enough, before she adds, “Nora, Rachel, and Leah had to get going, something about needing to be home for differing reasons. Martha had to go too, she, uh, got a ride home from Shelby.”

“Yeah, her mom needed her home, and Martha didn’t want to have to cut your conversation short with that dude, so Shelby offered to take her,” Fatin adds as a frown had made its way onto Toni’s face at the news.

Toni knows she shouldn’t be annoyed by it. Martha was only looking out for her, but she couldn’t help that spark of anger at the fact that her best friend had accepted a ride from someone she hates. 

“What did that guy want anyways?” Dot asks, pulling Toni out of her spiral of angry thoughts.

Standing up from her spot on the bleachers, Toni responds, “He’s a scout from Appalachian State. Wanted to offer me a scholarship for the basketball team as long as I keep my temper under control.”

“Hey! That’s awesome. Congrats dude,” Fatin says, wrapping her one arm around Toni’s shoulder and dramatically waving her free hand in the air, “I can picture it now: Toni Shalifoe, star player for the, shit, what’s their mascot?”

“I think they’re the Mountaineers,” Dot remarks from her place on the other side of Fatin, pulling out her phone, “Let me double check.”

“You’re right,” Toni tells Dot, “They’re the Mountaineers. And thanks, Fatin. I just have to make it through the rest of the year with no problems, although Shelby is going to make that fucking impossible.”

Fatin shakes her head and releases Toni in the process before she states, “I know she can be a lot. All the Bible talk is such a goddamn bore, but there’s more to her than meets the eye, which I know is surprising for me to say, but it’s true. She’s not half bad once you give her a chance.”

There’s a brief silence as the trio walks out of the gym, but then Fatin is quickly adding, “And before you say she’s homophobic, I don’t think she is. I know that’s one of the reasons you hate her, Toni, but I truly don’t think she is.”

“And how would you know that?” Toni questions, annoyed by the conversation shifting towards Shelby, even though she’s the reason the conversation topic is about Shelby.

“I’m with Toni here,” Dot admits while she types something on her phone, “How do you know?”

Fatin shrugs, “I have my ways, and you should know that Dot. Nothing stays hidden when I’m the one doing the digging.”

“What the fuck is that even supposed to mean Fatin?” Toni groans out, surprised that she’s so invested in knowing whatever it is Fatin seems to think she knows.

“As much as you all know I love gossip, my lips are sealed,” is all Fatin says before attempting to change the topic, “Now how about that scholarship offer. You’re gonna take it right?”

Toni doesn’t understand why Fatin is tight-lipped about the topic, but also knows Fatin is like this about stuff she doesn’t feel she should have a say on. So as much as she wants to push the topic and figure out what Fatin knows, she’s certain the only way she can figure it out is through Shelby herself as much as she hates the prospect of that. Instead, she answers Fatin’s question, “I plan on it. I have to get all the info on it first, but it’s an amazing opportunity.”

They push through the school doors out into the winter air, and Toni can feel her damp hair begin to freeze as they walk towards Fatin’s car.

“Of course it’s an amazing opportunity! And you deserve it more than anyone I know,” Dot says as they continue walking, “You’ve worked hard for it.”

“God that sounded like a love declaration,” Fatin exclaims, to which Dot promptly shoves her.

“Jesus Christ Fatin, it was not,” Dot counters, “You are infuriating sometimes.”

“But you love me nonetheless,” Fatin fires back, a smile on her face as she hooks her left arm around Dot, “My live-in muscle right here.”

“I would say you two need to get a room, but you already share one,” Toni remarks, stopping outside of Fatin’s car.

“Not true actually,” Fatin says, pulling out her keys to unlock the car, everyone climbing in when they’re unlocked.

Dot nods while she closes her door and says, “It’s true. I’ve been upgraded to the spare bedroom.”

Toni rolls her eyes and tosses her bag beside her on the backseat before fastening her seatbelt, “Somehow you two manage to drive each other insane, while also managing to work together to drive everyone else insane.”

“You’re right,” Fatin confirms, turning so she can look at Toni, “It’s part of our amazing friendship.” She holds her phone out to Toni and directs, “Now type in your address, so we can get you home safely, you loser.”

“Technically she’s a-” Dot begins to say but Fatin cuts her off.

“Yes Dot, I know she won the game for the Firebirds,” Fatin interjects, turning the car on, “It was that or fucker, so I took the nicer option.”

“Duly noted,” Toni says from the backseat as Fatin begins to pull out of the parking lot, and Dot begins to choose music for the drive to Toni’s house.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> okay i know i keep having toni's individual encounters with the other girls as car rides, but i feel like it's a good way to do it. regardless, this chapter served to set some things up in several ways that i suppose we will see play out in the future. i just want to say thank you to everyone who has commented and left kudos, you all are amazing! i appreciate them all, and i read them all. i'm just awkward and don't know how to respond, although sometimes i do. 
> 
> on a serious note for the outlook of this fic, my one professor presented me with an opportunity to have a published book review, so i'm in the midst of beginning to read a fairly large book, so updates may become more sporadic, especially as the semester starts and i have my classes on top of everything else. i also have some other works that i have severely neglected that i need to attend to as well, so be aware of this. i just want to ensure i close all my stories out or get them closer to that end goal because i do love all the stories i tell. i'm not gonna say how many stories i neglected, but it's at least 3. okay that's enough rambling. i hope you all are taking care! thanks again for reading!


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey everyone! it's been a while, but the semester has started once again so updating will become more sporadic. also i just want to share that when i first started this fic, it was a 2am decision and i planned nothing out for this. so this fic is honestly just ever changing as i begin to develop the characters and plot more, which i guess no one would really know, but some plot things have changed in my mind for this fic. most notably the final section of this chapter. so enjoy!

The next morning Toni wakes up to her phone going off, several text messages arriving at the same time. Groaning, she rolls over and picks her phone up from its spot on the nightstand. Unlocking it, she sees one message is from Martha and, much to her dismay, one from Shelby. She reads Martha’s text first. 

**_Martha:_ ** _ Hey, my mom’s car wouldn’t start this morning, so she had to take my car. Don’t worry though, I found us a ride. Just don’t hate me too much for it 😬 _

There’s a brief second where she wonders what Martha means, but she’s already behind because she always wakes up with barely enough time to get ready. Instead of dwelling on it she sends a quick message back. 

**_Toni:_ ** _ i’m sure i won’t dw  _

Then she’s opening Shelby’s message, curious as to what the blonde would be bothering her about at seven in the morning. 

**_Shelby:_ ** _ Hey, since the junior class survey closed last night, I sent out the next one to the sophomore class so that way it can close tonight, and then freshmen can be done Friday. That way we can order stuff next week. _

Throwing her phone down beside her, Toni doesn’t even bother responding to Shelby, instead getting out of bed and hurrying off to find herself some form of breakfast before she gets ready.

——

At seven fifteen when Toni sees an unfamiliar gray BMW pull into the driveway, she knows she’s going to kill Martha. To confirm her thought, she makes her way out of the house, and can make out blonde hair behind the wheel of the car. As she walks closer, she can see Martha offering her a small smile because she has to be aware of how much Toni hates this.

She opens the back passenger side door and slides in, the smell almost overpowering, but it’s familiar, akin to SweetTarts she thinks. Just another reason for her to hate Shelby, her car smells like candy.

“Good morning Toni,” Martha greets, her voice almost a warning for Toni to behave.

“Morning Marty,” Toni responds, and then as an afterthought she nods towards Shelby, “And Shelby.”

Shelby just nods back, preoccupied with backing out of the driveway. It isn’t until they’re driving down the road that Shelby asks, “Did you see my text about the surveys?”

“Yes I did,” Toni replies, a yawn escaping her, “But if you don’t mind, it’s too early to even be thinking about that. We have all forty-two minutes of study hall for you to enlighten me with results and whatnot.”

“Well then, how about you tell me about what happened after the game last night,” Martha suggests, “I mean you told me over FaceTime, but you were half asleep. So fill me in, because I am so excited for you.”

Toni shakes her head, well aware of the fact that Martha is just trying to keep the climate in the car comfortable, so she indulges Martha with more of the story, “As I told you last night, the scout from Appalachian State offered me a scholarship under the condition I stay out of trouble. He told me he had to talk to a lot of people about it since my discipline is cause for concern. But he somehow convinced them to take a chance on me, so here I am. I’m really happy about it, Marty. This is what I’ve been working for the last four years.” By the time she finishes, she’s almost forgotten that she’s in Shelby’s car, and she can feel herself smiling. The happiness dies down as soon as Shelby is the one to speak next.

“You’re not one to stay out of trouble though. I mean just last week you got into a fight.”

Whatever positive energy had been in the car is now gone, and Toni’s mood is souring faster than a gallon of milk left out in the sun. Martha doesn’t even try to stop Toni from angrily responding, “And as I fucking told you, your asshole of an ex boyfriend has been after me nonstop since you two broke up. Actually, what’s that about? Why is he after me since you two fucking broke up? Because last I checked, I had nothing to do with that, because before last week, I tried to interact with you as little as humanly possible. So enlighten me, what could I have even fucking done?”

Toni watches as Shelby’s grip on the steering wheel tightens, and she knows she hit a nerve with her outburst. What she can’t figure is out is why she feels so bad about it, but then remembers how Shelby showed up late to study hall on Monday, and she credits it to that. Whatever happened between Shelby and Andrew, Toni has no clue, but it must’ve been ugly. She just can’t figure out how she figured into the equation. 

Martha doesn’t even say anything to try and lighten the mood, so the silence only grows before Shelby breaks it. 

“You didn’t  _ do _ anything,” Shelby begins, her body posture tense as she continues, “I can’t help whatever he thinks.”

It’s the wording that catches Toni off guard; the fact that she didn’t do anything and Andrew must think she did something. It’s odd and she calls Shelby out on it, “So he thinks I did something?”

“That’s not what I said,” is all Shelby says as her defense, her grip somehow becoming even tighter on the wheel, turning her knuckles even whiter.

“But it was implied,” Toni quips back, a smug look on her face because she knows she’s right. She crosses her arms while she waits for Shelby to say something.

It isn’t Shelby who speaks next, but instead Martha who says, “Toni, maybe you should drop this. Shelby is helping us out right now. Don’t make her regret the favor.”

Toni frowns, a smart response almost out of her mouth about how she didn’t ask for Shelby to take her to school before she remembers Martha wouldn’t have done this if it wasn’t absolutely necessary, so she relents, “Fine, but this isn’t over.”

——

It’s sixth period and Toni is sitting through yet another boring lecture on economics. She vaguely recalls it’s something to do with supply and demand, and finding equilibrium, but she can’t really be bothered. She doesn’t find the subject hard, so she’s certain she’ll be able to teach herself it later that night, but Dot seems to think otherwise.

Dot elbows her, since the desks are arranged in pods of four and whispers, “Hey, I know this is boring, but you’re about three seconds away from getting yelled at.”

Toni directs her gaze to the front of the room and sees their teacher glaring at her. Then she looks to the powerpoint being displayed on the SmartBoard, and starts taking notes. There’s one thing she doesn’t want to be, and that’s on Mr Whitney’s bad side.

“You’re welcome,” Dot whispers to her a few minutes later when Mr Whitney seems to have forgotten about Toni.

“Thanks Dot,” Toni replies while she finishes writing down what’s on the current slide, “Remind me again why I agreed to take this class with you.”

Dot glances up at Toni from her notebook, “As I recall, all I said was that econ had some math, and you were quick to tell me you’d take it with me.”

“Sorry, I don’t recall that,” Toni says, even though she remembers the conversation well. She doesn’t even hate economics, in fact finds it mildly interesting, because it really is just another branch of mathematics, and she loves math. She loves it enough that she’s seriously debating going for some form of math degree in college.

Dot just shakes her head at Toni, and doesn’t say anything in response, because their conversation has managed to garner the attention of Mr Whitney who is once again glaring at them.

——

As soon as economics is over, Toni and Dot rush out of the room towards the cafeteria, along with most of the other students who have seventh period lunch. Normally students are slow to make their way to the cafeteria, but today is one of the few lunches that people absolutely love: General Tso’s Chicken. 

By the time they make it to the cafeteria, throw their books on their table, and make it to line, they’re in the middle of a super long line with some of their friends. 

“This line is ridiculous,” Rachel comments after they watch a freshman get sent to the back of the line for skipping. 

“We could be that kid though,” Dot says, jerking her thumb backwards behind them, “At least we’re in the middle.”

“Yeah, but it doesn’t make up for the fact that I’m hungry,” Leah counters before looking ahead at the rest of the line.

Toni nods, “Leah’s right. I’m starving, and this line is far too long.”

“If it’s any consolation, based upon usual wait times, we only have about seven minutes before we make it through the line,” Nora remarks, her gaze in the same direction as Leah’s.

“Somehow that makes it worse,” Leah says.

“Agreed,” Rachel says, going on to add, “Cause now that seven minutes is going to go by excruciatingly slow.”

“Unless we talk about something exciting,” Dot suggests and nods towards Toni, “I believe one of us has something exciting to share.”

Toni flips Dot off before addressing Dot’s suggestion, “Thanks to our dear friend Dorothy, I guess I have something to share.” She looks up towards the ceiling to collect her thoughts and then tells her friends, “Last night after the game, one of the scouts wanted to talk to me. He offered me a full ride. I just got all the information during third period about it.”

“That’s awesome, Toni! Your hard work has paid off,” Rachel congratulates, offering Toni a thumbs up.

Leah nods and then congratulates Toni herself, “That’s awesome! Congrats! It looks like you’ll be kicking ass elsewhere.”

Nora just smiles at Toni, and Toni knows Nora well enough that the gesture says all Toni needs to know. 

“Thanks guys,” Toni says, scratching the back of her head absently, “Just gotta make it through the rest of the year, then I can start thinking about the next four years in North Carolina.” The opportunity still doesn’t feel real to her, and a part of her wonders if that’s because she could still completely destroy her chances if anything went wrong.

“Hey, Nora’s gonna be in North Carolina too,” Rachel remarks, gently hitting into her sister with her shoulder.”

Nora just shrugs, “Yeah, I’m headed to Wake Forest. I haven’t really talked about it much, but I’m excited. It’ll be a new experience for sure.”

As they converse, they all move forward as the line progresses, and they’ve slowly made their way towards the front of the line. They continue to slowly move as the conversation continues.

“The dynamic duo going separate ways for college,” Leah observes, “And yet I get stuck with Rachel out of the two.”

“Where are you two headed off to again?” Toni asks. She’s certain it had come up in conversation through some means, but she can’t recall the exact school.

“Winona State,” Leah answers, “I think it’ll be a good fit for me.”

“Me as well,” Rachel begins, “Even though Leah says she’s stuck with me. All I’ll say is she’s the one that asked if I wanted to be roommates when we found out we were both going.”

Dot, Toni, and Nora laugh at that, but it’s Dot who says, “It doesn’t surprise me. Rilke here is just looking to make something sound worse than it is.”

“Good one,” Toni tells Dot before they finally reach the front of the line.

——

Toni is on her way to basketball practice after school, running late of course, when she turns a corner and runs right into someone.

“Oh fuck, that hurt,” the person says in an instantly recognizable Texan accent.

A low whistle escapes Toni, “Do you say your prayers with that mouth?” It’s not what she had expected to say, but she couldn’t let a chance to antagonize Shelby go to waste, even if running into the blonde had hurt her as well.

Shelby doesn’t even answer the question, instead bending over to pick up the book she had dropped, saying something so quiet Toni almost couldn’t hear it, “Of course it has to be you I run into.”

Toni sees that as a chance to bring up their conversation from that car that morning, and even devises a way to bring Shelby’s beloved religion into it as she suggests, “Maybe it’s just God’s way of saying that you should tell me what Andrew thinks I did.”

Shelby just shakes her head and answers, “I really don’t fucking have time for you right now, Toni.”

Taking a cautious step back since she was caught off guard by Shelby’s anger, Toni asks, “Who pissed in your cornflakes this morning?”

“More like, who interrogated me in my car this morning,” Shelby retorts, now standing back up and glaring down at Toni, “And then you spent all of third period and lunch without saying anything about it. So I don’t know why you’re bringing it up now.”

Toni’s certain that Shelby’s gaze drifts down to her lips, but she plays it off as her imagination, although she isn’t sure why her imagination would conjure that thought. Instead, she fires back at Shelby with just as much anger as the blonde was talking to her with, “I was busy during study hall with something, so I forgot. As for lunch, I didn’t want to disrupt the peace of the table. So sorry if now is the first time it’s crossed my mind to revisit the topic.”

“I really don’t have time for this,” Shelby begins, but then her tone shifts as she asks, “Do you really want to know?” When Toni nods, she keeps talking, “Do you remember that party from the weekend before school started?”

“Yeah,” Toni begins, uncertain where this is going, because a large portion of the night is in a drunken haze of memories that are disjointed, “Although I don’t know what you were doing there.”

Shelby’s jaw tenses, but then she continues on with her explanation, “Andrew forced me to go. I’m glad he did, because towards the end of the night, after I escaped him, I found you in the woods, and you were in bad shape. You were beyond mad when I tried to help you, but then you started throwing up and relented. I didn’t know what to do, so I dragged you to my car, and texted Leah to tell your friends I was taking you home.”

“You drove there?” Toni questions, effectively interrupting Shelby, “He couldn’t have even had the decency to drive you to a party he forced you to?”

“Not important,” Shelby answers, closing her eyes momentarily before she reopens them and continues, “I took you home after managing to get your address out of you. Had to clean my car of vomit afterwards, but I got you home. The next day Andrew asked where I had gone, and I told him, and he got so angry. We didn’t break up then, but he held it over my head that I helped someone like you, and threatened to tell my parents about it. I guess he finally got bored of that, because he broke up with me.” Shelby takes a deep breath before she concludes, “So you didn’t do anything Toni. I just think he blames you for the break up, and I don’t know how to change his mind on that.”

Toni stares at Shelby, studying the blonde as she attempts to process what Shelby just told her. It’s a lot, and she has a lot of emotions for differing parts of it, but the story at least fills in some of the gaps in her memory from that night. It doesn’t bring her any comfort though. When she finally speaks, she asks, “Why did you help me?”

Shelby shrugs but answers, “Sometimes it’s just about helping someone in need. Sometimes we just need someone to help us when we need it. I know I would want someone to do the same for me, so I helped you.” Shelby moves around Toni, and says, “I’ll see you tomorrow.” Then she’s walking away, leaving Toni behind.

Toni stands there with Shelby’s final words playing on a loop in her head, surprised by how much they echo the words of Clay from the night before.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> things are slowly but surely starting to play out >:D
> 
> also the smell in shelby's car may or may not be based from the experience of when i got my air freshener for my car it was such an overpowering smell of sweettarts that it was unbearable. but now that it has slowly begun to wear off, it's such a good smell. 10/10 recommend it
> 
> well that's all i have for now. if you want to come yell at me for anything in this fic, you can find me on twitter @razzspie where i sometimes make remarks about how my writing is going, but most times it's me just talking about my day to day life along with shows i like. wow i just described what a fan account is, okay that's dumb of me, but i'm leaving it there for you all to judge dhghjdfhgfg
> 
> stay safe everyone! make sure to stay hydrated!


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> some late night texts and takis discussion

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i'm back with another chapter and a chapter summary for once in my life :D

Toni doesn’t get much sleep that night, even though she’s absolutely beat from her practice. Instead, all she can think about is what Shelby had said to her earlier. If she’s being honest, it had distracted her all throughout practice to the point that Coach Thorne had yelled at her. 

She glances at her alarm clock and the red digital numbers tell her that it’s almost two in the morning. There’s no way she’s sleeping tonight, or even if she does, it won’t be for long. Picking her phone up, she goes to text Martha but then realizes Martha has probably been asleep for hours. So in her tired state, she makes a decision that well-rested her would regret. She texts the next person in her recent messages, not expecting a text back. 

**_Toni:_ ** _hey_

Much to her surprise, she receives a response within seconds. 

**_Shelby:_ ** _If this is your idea of a booty call, I’m not interested._

Toni can’t help the laugh that escapes her at the reply, even if it’s from the one person she can’t stand in the slightest, although what had happened at school had shifted their dynamic slightly. It takes Toni a few seconds to figure out her response, but she’s proud of what she sends back. 

**_Toni:_ ** _haha, no. wouldn’t want you to be scorned upon by your all-seeing god_

She doesn’t get a response for a few minutes, and she thinks Shelby must have opted to ignore her, but then her phone is lighting up with a reply. 

**_Shelby:_ ** _Did you text me just to antagonize me? Because as fun as that sounds, I’d rather not. And for your information I’m not scared of my “all-seeing god.”_

That has Toni’s interest. In her experience, a lot of super religious people tended to be scared of their God, even though—to her understanding—their god was supposed to love them unconditionally. 

**_Toni:_ ** _oh yeah? then what is it?_

Truthfully, Toni doesn’t think Shelby will reply to that one, but then she sees three dots pop up that means Shelby is typing a reply. A reply that comes moments later. 

**_Shelby:_ ** _That’s none of your concern, but just know I don’t hate you. I’m not some hateful person no matter how much you try to make me out as one._

A flash of anger surges through Toni at the accusation, although she’s well aware it’s true. Shelby’s reply just doesn’t make sense with her reaction at lunch the other day. 

**_Toni:_ ** _then why did you look uncomfortable when i said i was gay the other day at lunch?_

**_Shelby:_ ** _Cause I’m still working on breaking the beliefs that have been shoved down my throat since I was born. Might be hard for you to believe, but I don’t actually believe in everything my dad preaches._

Toni has no clue what to say in response to that but she still sends back a short reply so that Shelby knows she at least read the message. 

**_Toni:_ ** _oh, i’m sorry_

And, surprisingly, Toni finds she actually is sorry for it. A reply doesn’t come from Shelby, though, and Toni drifts off into a light sleep not long after.

——

The next morning Toni isn’t surprised when Shelby’s car pulls into the driveway, Martha having told her that her mom’s car still wasn’t working. 

The whole car ride to school is filled with a charged tension as two of the members in the car avoid talking about the elephant in the room, but Martha doesn’t seem to pick up on it, instead rambling on about how she hopes Marcus asks her to go to the dance. Toni has heard all about Marcus; Martha has had a crush on him since junior year, but nothing has come of it yet. 

It’s only when they get to school and Martha and Toni are walking into school together—Shelby having gone to talk to Fatin—that Martha comments, “So you didn’t antagonize Shelby today. That’s a new one.”

Toni shrugs, “I’m just tired. Couldn’t sleep last night.” It’s not a lie, but it’s not the whole truth and Toni hates that Martha seems to realize this. 

“What was keeping you up?” 

Martha’s question is innocent, and Toni knows her friend won’t push it, but she still feels like she has to answer it. 

“Just thinking about how Shelby helped me out at that party before school started and trying to figure out why no one ever told me it was her.”

“Toni,” Martha begins, “We all thought you knew and didn’t want to talk about it since you don’t like her.”

“You’re not wrong there,” Toni replies but feels the need to admit, “Although I don’t know how I feel about her now.” She’s not mad at her friends for never saying it was Shelby; their reasoning makes perfect sense to her because just yesterday

she would have agreed that she hated Shelby, but now she doesn’t know where she stands on that matter. 

“Aw, look at you growing as a person,” Martha gushes, bumping her shoulder into Toni’s shoulder.

Toni rolls her eyes at Martha’s antics, but goes along with it, “You’re lucky I like you Marty. But I guess you’re right.”

“I’m always right and you know it,” Martha fires back as the two enter into the school, “And who knows, maybe you and Shelby will be friends after this whole thing. 

“Yeah right ,” Toni scoffs, making a disgusted face at the suggestion, but deep down thinks that maybe friends wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world.

——

It’s fifth period , the one class Toni has that both Leah and Fatin are in. She shares some other classes with them, but this is the only one that has both of them at the same time. It’s also the one class that Toni has a definite love-hate relationship with: French. 

She hadn’t set out to take French more than the required two years she needed for a foreign language, but then her teacher had remarked how well Toni did, so she stuck with it. 

She’s regretting that decision right now as Mrs Olson passes out a giant packet that Toni realized is a comic book. They had done one junior year, but it seems they were doing another one this year. 

She directs them on what they need to do, which entails a lot of other mini assignments to go with translating this packet and only two weeks to do it, before telling them to break off into groups to start translating together. 

Usually Toni works alone, but it seems Leah and Fatin have other plans. 

“Hey there,” Fatin greets, sliding her desk beside Toni’s. 

“We’ll be your translating buddies,” Leah asserts while she turns her desk around so they can form a group. 

Toni writes her name on the top of the packet while she asks, “And what made you guys decide to do this?”

“Dude, it’s because we’re friends,” Fatin answers before adding, “Plus this way neither Leah and I have to get up to get dictionaries.”

“Oh fuck you,” Toni bites out, but stands up nonetheless to go get dictionaries. She doesn’t hear what Fatin says in response since she’s out of earshot, but she has a good idea about what it was. 

When she returns with the dictionaries a few seconds later, Fatin and Leah are already writing what a few of the words mean. 

“Didn’t take you guys as people who actually do their work,” Toni admits as she slides back into her seat. 

“It’s only because it took you forever to get the dictionaries, we got bored,” Leah jokes earning a response from Fatin. 

“Atta girl. I’m rubbing off on you more and more every day.” 

Fatin holds her hand up for a high five, which Leah indulges her in, but then they get to work translating. 

It’s about five minutes into their translating when Leah directs the conversation away from their task at hand. 

“Hey, I wanted to apologize for not telling you who took you home from that party,” Leah begins before explaining herself, “I really just thought you knew, and we weren’t really super close so it never really came up in conversation. I should’ve made sure you knew though, so I’m sorry.”

“And I’m sorry for not saying anything either,” Fatin says, “I was with Leah when Shelby texted to say she was taking you home, so I knew. It just never crossed my mind you wouldn’t remember.”

“It’s all good guys,” Toni assures, “I don’t hold it against you. It’s my fault I drank so much that my memory is practically nonexistent from that night. But I’m surprised you weren’t off with someone Fatin.” She ignores the stare Leah sends her way, because it isn’t a crime for her to try and snoop on what’s going on in Fatin’s mind. She picks up her water bottle to get a drink while she waits for Fatin’s response. 

Fatin makes a waving hand gesture, that Toni doesn’t know the meaning of, but she explains, “I was trying to help Leah scope out someone. It would be a failure on my person not to help a friend out.”

Toni nearly chokes on her water, instead ending up having a coughing fit that leads to Fatin patting her on the back. 

“Jesus Toni, what’s the matter?” Fatin questions. 

Leah looks concerned for Toni’s sake, but there’s also a hint of pain on her face at the usage of the word friend by Fatin. 

“Nothing’s….the matter,” Toni chokes out, clearing her throat before she regains composure, “Just forgot how to drink for a second there.”

The answer seems to be sufficient for Fatin who directs them back to the task at hand: getting at least the first five pages of the comic translated before class ends. 

——

“Okay so do any of you losers have any big plans for this weekend?” Fatin asks midway through lunch. 

In response, everyone shakes their head. The only thing Toni has planned is making sure she’s ready for the game Monday night. It’s an away game against one of the worst teams in the district, but that doesn’t mean she can be off her game. 

“Are you about to suggest what I think you’re about to?” Dot questions, raising her brow at Fatin. 

Fatin sends a non threatening glare Dot’s way before she addresses the rest of the table, “For those of you who don’t live with me, we have the house to ourselves this weekend, so naturally I’m inviting you all over.”

“Count me in,” Leah rushes out, but then pauses before asking, “What day is it actually?”

“Whenever you want it to be,” Dot informs, explaining further, “We decided it could be all weekend if you guys wanted. A whole weekend of just fucking around unsupervised.”

“Nora and I will be there,” Rachel states and when Nora looks at her confused, Rachel adds, “Although we will have to be home on Sunday. Our grandparents are coming over for dinner.”

“I’d have to leave Saturday night,” Shelby says, “What with church and everything. You know how my parents are.”

“And that’s perfectly okay,” Fatin assures, “As long as you at least make an appearance.”

“I’ll make sure to be there then,” Shelby replies, offering a smile to Fatin. 

Toni watches the interaction between the two and wonders just exactly when the two of them became close; she had only ever thought Fatin hung around her was because of Leah. 

“Toni and I will be there,” Martha pipes up, and when Toni looks at her, Martha remarks, “What? We were hanging out anyway.”

There isn’t really a way she can deny that fact since it’s true so she concedes, “Fine, but only if there’s Takis.”

“I really regret the day I introduced you to those,” Nora says, not looking up from what she was writing in a notebook, “You should really consider investing in their stock. You’re probably keeping the company afloat by yourself.”

“Or maybe she just knows really good food,” Dot offers. 

Nora is quick to counter, “I introduced you to them too, so without me you two probably never would’ve tried them.”

“I think now would be the perfect time to bring up the time you two literally fought over the last bag in the store,” Martha suggests. 

“You two what?” is the question that escapes Leah who seems dumbfounded at the idea. 

“Oh I heard about this one. It’s a good one,” Rachel says, trying to stifle a laugh as she does so, “Nora told me about it.”

“We didn’t actually fight,” Toni tries, but then Martha is elbowing her in the side, so she admits, “Okay maybe there was a brief time where Dot tried to run away with the bag and I tackled her, but that was it.”

“And you two didn’t think of splitting the bag because?” Shelby inquires. 

Toni stares at the blonde and frowns when Shelby looks away. 

It’s Nora who answers Shelby’s question, “They did that after Martha suggested it. Although they weren’t allowed back in that grocery store for a while.”

“Hey it’s not our fault the owner was a dick,” Dot defends, and Toni nods in agreement. 

“Wait if this is the grocery store closest to school, I have to agree with them,” Shelby admits, shrugging when everyone looks at her, “The guy who runs it is a dick.”

Fatin questions that statement, “Doesn't Andrew’s dad own that grocery store?”

Shelby rolls her eyes, “Yeah, and it turns out the apple really doesn’t fall far from the tree in that family.” There’s a pause and then—with her gaze now focused on Toni—she adds, “I do regret dating him something awful, but I can’t change the fact that I did.”

“Hey, none of us here hold it against you,” Fatin assures, “God knows I have questionable taste in men too.”

Toni watches how Leah deflates at Fatin’s remark, but she doesn’t dwell on it, instead she reassures Shelby as well, “Fatin’s right, none of us hold it against you.”

And maybe it isn’t the perfect olive branch to extend, but it’s a start. They’re probably a long ways away from ever being truly close, but in that moment Toni thinks that they might have found a middle ground to stand on.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> the tides are changing might i say. also the translating of a french comic might or might not be based on actual high school experiences (my partner and i had the most insane work ethic to get a 45-50 page packet done in a week so we could do the other assignments the second week in class), but i loved french class regardless. i tend to project classes i had in high school on all my character across all my fics that are set in high school so please bear with me on that. i write about what i know about, so that's all i have to defend myself. however, i do fell like fatin and leah are two people who you would just assume took french class over spanish, and then toni is the wildcard student you wouldn't have expected to take it and consequently stick with it. okay that's all i have for now, but stay tuned for more in the future cause things are starting to get interesting >:D
> 
> oh also, i apologize for the innuendo i made at the start of the chapter if it was bad. i'm not good at stuff like that. however if it was funny, i;m content with that. my ace self has no clue at all


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> a get together at fatin's house   
> featuring: some teenage shenanigans, movie references, two serious conversations in the kitchen, and a cat!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> as a warning, there's some underage drinking in this chapter which i do not condone, but it's just a part of high school for some so yeah. that's all i have to say there. enjoy the chapter and my wonderfully vague chapter summary!

Saturday morning, Toni wakes up on the air mattress in Martha’s room, having spent the night so they could go to Fatin’s in the early afternoon. It had been settled in a group chat Fatin had made after school that, while people could show up whenever, for those who needed an official time, one o’clock would suffice. 

Blinking a few times, Toni looks over at Martha’s bed to see her friend is in the midst of doing some form of homework. 

“Fuck’s sake Marty, it’s Saturday morning. No one does homework that early.”

“They do when their best friend decides to sleep til eleven thirty,” is Martha’s response without looking up from her notebook. 

“Shit really?” Toni asks, picking her phone up to see that it is just a few minutes until eleven forty-five, to which she asks, “Why didn’t you wake me up? I know Rachel and Nora are picking us up soon.”

Martha turns to look at her, “Cause you said you didn’t get much sleep the night before. Didn’t want to disturb you.”

Toni nods in understanding, knowing Martha is always thinking about other people, remembering the minute things people tell her. “I appreciate it, thanks Marty,” Toni says after a beat of silence, truly thankful for her best friend. 

“No problem,” Martha responds before she reminds, “You better get ready though. Don’t want to keep the twins waiting.” 

——

About half an hour later, Rachel and Nora pull into the Blackburn’s driveway, Nora behind the wheel. 

Toni and Martha had been ready, so they walk out while both Nora and Rachel wave at them. 

Toni enters on the driver’s side, sliding into the backseat, while Martha does the same on the passenger side. 

“Are you two ready to party?” Rachel asks while the backdoors are being closed. 

“As ready as we’ll ever be,” Martha responds while she fastens her seatbelt. 

Toni does the same while Nora starts to back out of the driveway. Once her seatbelt is fastened she leans forward so that her head is between Nora and Rachel, “I see you finally convinced Rachel to let you drive. It’s about time too. I was ready to throw down with her so you could.”

“You were there when I said that her and I could alternate!” Rachel exclaims, pushing Toni’s head backwards into the backseat. 

Toni shakes her head as she settles back into her seat, “I don’t think so. I don’t recall a conversation like that. Do you Nora?”

“Not at all,” Nora agrees, adding, “I’m only driving now cause I slept in the car so she couldn’t beat me to it.”

“You two are unbearable,” Rachel says, turning around so she can look at Martha, “How do you do it?” 

“Oh fuck off,” Toni states, flipping Rachel off, but Martha pushes her arm back down.

“Oh trust me, she’s only like this with your sister,” Martha reveals, “They don’t let up on Dot and I when we hang out. It’s bound to get worse the more they’re in the same area.”

“You guys just can’t handle how cool Toni and I are,” Nora explains.

“That’s right,” Toni affirms while pulling her phone out of her pocket as it had gone off, “And by the looks of it, Fatin and Dot are trying to be cooler than us.” 

The picture is from the Snapchat group chat Fatin had made, and shows a giant bowl of red liquid with Dot giving a thumbs up from behind it, empty bottles of alcohol strewn about. 

“Oh shit, they’re really trying to kill us,” Rachel remarks after studying the photo for a few seconds. 

Toni turns the phone towards Martha who says something similar. 

“That looks like death in a bowl.”

“Or just what Fatin calls her truth serum, at least according to Dot,” Toni suggests, pulling her phone back towards herself. She sends back a chat message to tell Dot and Fatin that they’re almost there. 

“I’m surprised she made it so early,” Nora admits as she turns down Fatin’s road, “I would’ve thought alcohol would make an appearance after Shelby left.”

Toni and Martha both look towards Rachel to see what she has to say since she’s the closest to Shelby out of everyone in the car. 

Rachel notices everyone is waiting for her response moments later, so she vocalizes, “Nah, Shelby’s cool. She isn’t gonna go tattling. Plus Fatin’s probably only made it this early so Shelby  _ can _ have a cup before she has to leave. If she has one when she gets there, she should be fine by tonight.”

“I don’t know about that one,” Toni begins, thinking about all the empty alcohol bottles that had been in the photo to go with the singular empty fruit punch, “I think the mixture is ninety-nine percent alcohol and one percent punch.”

Nora is pulling into the driveway of Fatin’s house when she responds, “Then it really will live up to its title of truth serum.”

——

When they walk up to the door, it swings open in front of them, Fatin standing there to greet them, “Hell yeah! It’s finally a party!” She steps aside to let everyone into the house, but keeps talking, “Leah stayed over last night, and Shelby got here about five minutes ago.”

Toni looks up at Fatin at the mention of Leah staying over the previous night, but she has no idea what to make of it. 

Dot comes hurrying into the entryway before anyone else can say anything, “We might have a slight problem.”

“And what’s that?” Fatin questions, turning to look at Dot. 

“Rocky got out of his cage,” comes Dot’s response immediately. 

“Who’s Rocky?” Rachel questions. 

Fatin sighs, “A stupid fucking cat my parents got my siblings to try and smooth over their marital problems. He’s fucking cute, but his name should be Houdini for the amount of times he gets out.”

Leah comes into the entryway next, “Good news! Shelby went looking for Rocky, and found him. He was at your neighbor’s house terrorizing their dog.”

“Thank god,” Fatin says, turning back to the group of four, “Now that that’s settled! Let’s party bitches!”

——

It’s about three hours later, and everyone has gotten progressively more wasted as the hours went by. As it stands,, Fatin had placed an order for pizza, but Toni is pretty sure she ordered way too many. 

Shelby is the only one who is for the most part sober since she has to leave around nine thirty that night, but she’s tipsy at the moment, this much Toni knows by the way the blonde sways on her feet as she stands up. 

“I know the pizza’s almost here, but I was thinkin’ we play a little game,” Shelby drawls out, gesturing around at the group with her cup that now contains water. 

“Going full Christian camp counselor on us,” Toni jokes, and Shelby seems to get that it’s a joke because she laughs. 

Everyone else laughs as well, but it’s Rachel who speaks up, “She always recommends games when she’s drunk, but they never fail to disappoint.”

“I am not drunk,” Shelby defends, pointing at Rachel, “I’ve only had two cups of Fatin’s death mixture, and y’all are way passed that.”

“Regardless,” Nora waves Shelby’s defense off, “What’s the game?”

Shelby smiles, “Never have I ever.”

Toni doesn’t even stop herself from groaning at the game suggestion. 

——

It’s after pizza and Shelby’s game, and Toni finds herself in the kitchen with Fatin, helping to put the leftover pizza in the fridge. 

“So why are you suddenly so nice to Shelby?” Fatin asks and when Toni makes a face, Fatin clarifies, “Okay nice might not be the right word, but something changed between you guys, what is it?”

Toni shrugs, not wanting to share what it was that had changed, because she still couldn’t figure out why things had changed. 

“Fine, be a mysterious bitch about it,” Fatin remarks, turning to put the pizza in the fridge. 

Laughter erupts from where everyone is in the other room, distracting both Fatin and Toni for a moment as they both look towards the direction of everyone else. 

Fatin’s sighs and looks back at Toni, “Can I ask you something?”

Toni is taken aback but the vulnerability that seems to be in Fatins’s voice, but she nods nonetheless. 

“Do you think Leah likes girls?” is the question that Fatin asks, and her tone is both blunt and mixed with a sense of vulnerability that had been there before. 

Opening her mouth to respond, Toni knows she has to tread carefully with this conversation, but her head is clouded from the alcohol so it’s a few moments of the question hanging in the air before she responds, “What made you ask that?”

Fatin shrugs, “I’m just curious. She’s never really talked about who she likes and I wondered what your thoughts were on it.”

“I don’t know,” Toni answers, glancing towards where everyone else was, hoping someone would walk in and save her from the current conversation but no one does, so she continues, “It’s not like Leah and I are super close. It seems more like something she would tell you about first before she told me.”

“And I wasn’t asking if she told you she did,” Fatin counters. She moves closer to Toni with a curious expression on her face as she continues, “I was just asking what you thought, unless you know something I don’t.”

“Jesus Christ, Fatin,” Toni breathes out, taking a step back and taking a deep breath before she states, “Just tell me why you want to know.”

Fatin studies Toni for a second before she looks around to make sure no one is coming then looking back at Toni as she admits, “I don’t know if you’ve ever had this moment, but I was just sitting in class the other day and it hit me. It hit me that I might actually really like Leah, but I don’t know. I’m scared if I tell her, she won’t feel the same.”

It takes all of Toni’s remaining willpower to not facepalm at the whole thing, because it’s actually painful how oblivious both Fatin and Leah are. Instead, she places a hand on Fatin’s shoulder, “Just talk to her. Tell her how you feel. The worst thing you can do is go your whole life and wonder what could’ve been.” 

“Fuck, you’re right,” Fatin says, furrowing her brow in thought, “That was actually pretty good advice. Not something I would’ve expected coming from an Aries.”

Toni removes her hand from Fatin’s shoulder and questions, “What the fuck does me being an Aries have to do with anything?”

A smile works its way onto Fatin’s face, “Oh it has everything to do with it.” Fatin turns and walks away then, leaving Toni behind. 

Toni stands there for a few seconds longer, draining what was left in her cup as she tries to figure out what her zodiac sign has to do with anything. She’s about to walk out when Shelby comes into the kitchen. 

“Oh hey Toni,” Shelby greets, continuing to make her way to the fridge where she pulls out a Brita that’s filled with water. 

“Hey,” Toni greets back, watching as Shelby pours more water into her cup. Being alone with Shelby outside of school sets her nerves on edge that not even the alcohol in her system can subdue. At least when they’re alone in school it’s for a specific goal and they have a purpose, but here—in Fatin’s house on a Saturday evening—Toni has a similar feeling to the one that forms in her stomach before a basketball game; the uncertainty of the outcome is what she attributes it to, even if the tiny voice at the back of her head says otherwise. 

Shelby pulls Toni out of her thoughts when—without turning around—she asks, “Is there a reason you’re staring at me?”

Toni’s eyes dart away from Shelby and she can feel heat rush to her face at the accusation. She swallows as she tries to articulate a response, settling for, “Just trying to figure you out.”

“Could say the same about you,” Shelby replies, putting the Brita back in the fridge before she looks at Toni, “Ask away though. I might just give you an answer.”

There’s a momentary silence as Toni wracks her brain for something to ask, because there are several things she wants to know. She opts to ask the first one that comes to her mind, “What did Andrew say to you the other day that made you cry?”

Shelby stares at her like she can’t believe the question, but then she’s moving to sit down on a chair that’s around the island Toni was standing at. She bites her bottom lip, and then admits, “I’m surprised you remember that, but if you want to know, he just said some really cruel things. Things that he shouldn’t know because they happened back in Texas, which means my daddy must’ve told him after we broke up.”

Frowning, it hits Toni just how much of an asshole Shelby’s dad is. She already knew that he was, but this knowledge cements the severity of it, because no parent should talk to their child’s ex about stuff their kid had done. She’s curious as to what it was that had happened in Texas so she pushes a bit further, “What happened in Texas?”

Shelby tenses at the question and directs her gaze towards the counter in front of her. She takes a drink from her cup before she finally responds, “That is a long story meant for a time that isn't at an event that’s supposed to be fun and upbeat. Maybe if you can bear to be alone with me more than the bare minimum, we can get ice cream a night and talk about it.”

Toni can’t help but feel like she just got asked out, but she’s drunk and tells herself it’s just her inebriated self being dumb. She accepts the offer then, saying, “Count me in, because I can’t say your presence is unbearable anymore. Tuesday night after my practice we can go somewhere if that works. 

Shelby looks back at her, surprise written on her face at the outcome, but she nods and answers, “Yeah that works. Can't believe you agreed though.”

Whatever it was Toni was going to reply is never vocalized as Rachel stumbles into the kitchen, declaring, “There you two are! We were beginning to think one of you murdered the other. Come on, we’re about to watch a movie before Shelby has to leave.”

Standing up off her chair, Shelby moves towards Rachel, saying, “We’re coming.”

Toni has no other choice but to follow after the other two.

——

The movie ends up being some 1980s horror movie that really isn’t a horror movie as everyone discovers at the end of the movie. Toni thinks the movie was actually pretty good, and she definitely believes two of the main characters were a couple.

It seems she isn’t the only one to think so, because when the credits start rolling, Fatin announces, “Please tell me I wasn’t the only one who picked up on the tension between Muffy and Nan. They had to have been a couple.”

Dot nods in agreement, “You’re definitely right, and if they weren’t a couple, they were definitely hooking up.”

Toni decides to input her own opinion on the matter, “I agree with Fatin too, because there is no heterosexual explanation for that cheek kiss and whatever the fuck that stare was afterwards.”

“You all make good points,” Nora begins, “But the movie’s from nineteen eighty-six. There’s probably nothing more to it than that they were friends.”

Rachel groans from her spot beside her sister, “Nora! Just because it’s from the eighties, doesn’t mean there can’t be gay undertones.”

“Rachel’s right,” Shelby remarks, and everyone turns to look at her, so she continues, “I mean you can see it all the time in movies. An older example would be the movie  _ Rope _ , which my daddy surprisingly loves; or there’s more recent examples like  _ Bend It Like Beckham _ . There’s gay subtext everywhere if you look for it.”

Toni opens her mouth to question how Shelby is familiar with the movies—mostly the latter as she isn’t familiar with the first—but the conversation is already continuing based on Shelby’s remark. 

“ _ Bend It Like Beckham _ ? Now there’s a movie I have problems with. They can’t set Jules and Jess up to be the perfect couple and then not execute it!” Leah exclaims, clearly invested in the topic as she barrels on, “That movie had so much potential but they wasted it! Imagine how amazing it would’ve been had it been sapphic. Now the only way to achieve that is through fanfiction or stuff like that.”

“Leah Rilke! Are you telling us you read fanfic?” Dot questions, throwing a pillow in Leah’s direction, but missing horribly as it veers towards Martha.

“Hey!” Martha proclaims, looking up from her phone, grabbing the pillow Dot had thrown and throwing it back at Dot. This time the pillow hits its desired target but also manages to hit Nora in the process. 

Toni decides to add to the chaos and grabs the pillow beside her, throwing it in a random direction, making contact with Shelby. 

Things only escalate from there, escalating into a full blown drunken pillow fight, save for Shelby who is the closest one to being sober.

Shelby holds the pillow that had hit her in hands as she stands up—gaze focused on Toni—and releases the pillow in the direction of Toni, “Don’t start a fight you can’t win.”

The pillow hits Toni square in the face but she still hears what Shelby had said. She takes it as a challenge as everyone else begins throwing pillows at each other. Watching as everyone scatters into varying locations in the room, Toni pulls her arm back and throws the pillow back at Shelby while she says, “If that’s a challenge, consider it accepted.”

——

As it turns out, no one wins the pillow fight as it ends with them all collapsing on the floor fifteen minutes later, out of breath. 

“I don’t know if it’s the alcohol talking or what, but that was fucking fun,” Fatin breaths out.

Shelby sits up from her spot on the floor and says, “As the only one who isn’t currently drunk, I can assure you that it was fun. And it’s on that note that I have to leave.”

Leah sits up as well, talking in the process as she tells Shelby, “Two thumbs down for that.” To prove her point she gives Shelby two thumbs down while she continues speaking, “But I guess we’ll allow it.”

“Yeah, I guess we will,” Rachel agrees, but remains lying down as she continues, “The wrath of Dave is not the wrath we want to face.”

Toni turns her head to look at Shelby after Rachel’s remark and she contemplates what exactly Rachel was implying with her comment. 

Fatin tries to steer the conversation elsewhere, however, as she climbs to her feet—albeit unsteadily—and looks down at Shelby, “Next time we’ll have to plan something like this on a Friday so that you can stay. But I’m so glad you could make it.”

Shelby stands up as well, “Thanks for having me. I’ll be seeing y’all on Monday.” She looks at Toni then and directs her next statement towards her, “And Toni, it would be a real good thing if you came with links so that we could order the posters for the dance.”

“Yeah, of course,” Toni responds, offering a slight wave to Shelby, “I’ll make sure to have them.” She can feel Fatin staring at her, and she wonders what she could have possibly done to earn the state. She doesn’t find out, though, because then Fatin is walking out of the room with Shelby and all she can hear is muffled bits of whatever it is she’s saying to Shelby. 

——

When Fatin returns moments later, the first thing out of her mouth is, “Okay you two seem pretty close. Spill, and I want an answer this time.”

Toni half sits up to see everyone staring at her with the same curious expression. She lets herself lay back on the floor before she answers, “As I told you earlier, we’re not close. We’re just civil.”

“Okay, but you were willingly in the kitchen with her earlier and when I walked in you two weren’t fighting,” Rachel counters. 

“I can be nice when I want to be,” Toni says in an attempt to defend herself. 

Dot laughs, “Yeah and pigs can fucking fly.”

“Oh fuck you,” Toni barks out, flipping Dot off in the process, “Marty tell them what a nice person I am.”

“It’s true,” Martha asserts, “It's just very rare when she chooses to be.”

“Yet somehow I find it the easiest to spill my guts to her,” Leah comments, and then—as if realizing she said it out loud—quickly tries to explain herself, “Not that I do it frequently. Just occasionally.”

“Ah, it’s no big deal,” Fatin assures, “I do it too. She has some fucking great advice.”

“I don’t know about that one,” Nora counters, “I remember one time she told Dot the best way to pass physics was by not studying at all.”

“I did fail that test,” Dot begins before concluding, “Not because of her advice though. Just because I don’t know the first thing about physics.”

“Are we going to circle back to Shelby?” Rachel questions, continuing on with, “Because I still want to know why her and Shelby are close now.”

“Oh you’re right,” Leah says to Rachel before asking Toni, “So why are you two civil now?”

Toni groans, realizing she really doesn’t have an escape here. There’s no way for her to avoid the endless questioning until she gives them what they want. Pinching the bridge of her nose, she responds, “I just realized she wasn’t that bad. Plus she went out of her way to help me and I think it cost her a lot to do so.”

“Oh good. My words got through to you,” Fatin remarks, “I was beginning to think you forgot that conversation.”

“How can I fucking forget a conversation where for the first time in your life you didn’t want to gossip?” Toni questions, halfway genuine curiosity in her tone. She still wasn’t sure what secrets Fatin was hiding about Shelby, and she’d be a liar if she said she didn’t want to know. 

“She has a point,” Dot comments, “Because even I was taken aback by the lack of gossip.”

Fatin sighs, “I know I backed myself into this corner, but my lips are sealed guys. I can’t betray the trust of a friend.”

“You’re just teasing us now,” Rachel says to Fatin before asking, “However, I’m thirsty, so does anyone want more alcohol?”

Toni raises her hand and glances up to see everyone else has raised their hands. 

“Nora, you're coming with me to help,” Rachel directs, standing up and dragging her sister out of the room with her. 

——

The rest of the night passes in a hazy blur for Toni. They watch another movie and then when that’s over, a drunken game of charades follows, which quickly descends into chaos. 

Everything seems to die down however after the first person, Martha, falls asleep. Everyone else follows soon after. 

Toni’s the last one awake. She knows this because when she stumbled to the kitchen five minutes prior, no one had seemed fazed by her movement. So now she lays on the floor—wrapped up in a blanket that is so soft she debates stealing it from Fatin—trying to parse through her thoughts that all seem to work their way back to Shelby. 

Running a hand through her hair, Toni tries to figure out why her feelings in Shelby have changed so fast. Sure, there was the fact that Shelby helped her out, but that shouldn’t have been enough to change her opinion that quickly. There’s more to it, that much she knows, but she can’t place the feeling in her chest every time Shelby is around. A feeling that had been amplified tenfold the more alcohol she had consumed throughout the day. She falls asleep a few minutes later, still trying to figure out whatever that feeling is. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i felt like a drunken pillow fight was necessary even if it wasn't drawn out in much detail. my knowledge of how people behave when drunk is very limited but i know stupid stuff always occurs so i went with it. also, to everyone who has read my other works, i am sorry for once again pushing my ice cream agenda onto one of the characters in the story. there will come a day where i don't mention ice cream in a fic, but that day is not today! also leatin is making strides in admitting how they feel, but it's all dependent on what fatin does with what toni told her >:D

**Author's Note:**

> i have to plan out this fic a little bit, but i'm sure i'll update soon, so stay tuned! take care everyone!


End file.
